Duniek Christian is free; judge rules he can’t be retried

YOUNGSTOWN — After more than three years in the Mahoning County Jail awaiting trial, Duniek Christian was set free today after a judge ruled that prosecutors could not try him again.

A jury concluded Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations in a weeklong trial that Christian, 23, was innocent of ramming a stolen Cadillac into an unmarked Youngstown police car and assaulting police officers in a rolling gun battle July 1, 2005.

But jurors said they were “unable to decide” whether Christian was guilty of complicity regarding the three other men shooting assault rifles at seven police officers.

That set off a legal battle involving Mark Hockensmith, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, and Thomas E. Zena, Christian’s lawyer, over whether Christian could be tried again on the seven counts of complicity to felonious assault.

Both lawyers admitted that the legal issues surrounding the question are unresolved, with no case law that specifically addresses the issue.

In deciding what to do with Christian, Judge Evans said he would order Christian discharged from jail and no retrial on the complicity charges with the expectation that the prosecution would appeal his decision. He was released at about 3:30 p.m.

For the complete story, see Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.