Trial to decide if man was party to murder

‘He was part of this plan,’ the assistant prosecutor said.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The jury in the complicity to aggravated murder trial of Bertrum Moore will have a fairly straightforward decision to make when it finishes hearing testimony this week, attorneys for both sides agree. Did Moore know he was about to be party to a murder when he gave three men a ride last November?

Moore, 18, of Whitney Avenue, Youngstown, could be sentenced to 20 years or more in prison if convicted.

His trial began Wednesday before Judge Maureen A. Cronin in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the death of Martwain J. Dill, 23, of West LaClede Avenue.

Opening statement

In opening statements, Steve Shandor, an assistant county prosecutor, said Moore and two fellow students at the Life Skills Learning Center on Market Street, Eric Lewis, 18, of Kenmore Avenue, and Keith B. Tillis Jr., 18, of North Lakeview Avenue, took a ride together Nov. 3 when classes at Life Skills let out early.

Along the way, Shandor said, Lewis spotted Dill in a pickup, called Gary Crockett, 29, of Buckeye Circle, and told him, “I just seen the dude we’re looking for. I’m coming to get you.”

The three picked up Crockett, who got into the car with two weapons, and the four drove around looking for Dill, finding him at Glenwood and Earle avenues on the South Side around 11 a.m., Shandor said.

A witness will testify that three men got out of Moore’s green 1984 Bonneville and at least two of the men opened fire on Dill. One of the shots struck Dill in the head, killing him instantly after he returned fire with his own weapon, Shandor said.

The three other men face murder charges as well.

One of the key points in that scene was when Moore stopped at Crockett’s house, waiting for Lewis and Crockett to emerge, Shandor said. If the conversation he heard in the car led him to believe a murder was about to occur, he could have left before Crockett and Lewis returned to the car, Shandor said.

And when he stopped his car on Glenwood Avenue to let the three others out, he could have kept on going. Instead, he drove a short distance away and let Crockett back in the car. He then drove Crockett back to his house.

“He was part of this plan,” Shandor said.

Defense’s take

Moore’s attorney, David Engler of Boardman, said most of Shandor’s facts are correct, except that Moore didn’t understand the meaning of the conversation between Lewis and Crockett and therefore didn’t know they were planning a murder.

He did let Crockett back in his car after the killing, but he did not sit and wait for him, Engler said. Instead, Moore was “running” from the location where he dropped off the three men and then saw Crockett in his rearview mirror and let him back in the car.

Moore was afraid for his life after the killing and fled to Columbus, Engler said. He eventually returned to Youngstown and gave police the information they needed to arrest Crockett, Lewis and Tillis, Engler said.

runyan@vindy.com