Murder trial date changed

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — When the Donnie R. Reed murder trial gets under way in about two months, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common expects it to be completed efficiently.

Reed, 49, of Burkey Road, Austintown, is accused of murder in the shooting death of Army Pvt. Randy Davis, 22, of Boardman and Youngstown.

Davis died of a gunshot wound to the forehead from a World War II-era .45-caliber handgun in Reed’s home April 4, 2008.

During a hearing this week at which time the trial was moved from this Monday to Sept. 29, Kenneth Cardinal, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, mentioned that he was likely to call 24 to 25 witnesses.

That sounded like too many to Judge Krichbaum, who said he couldn’t understand why a case that involved several people in a home where one man shot another required such a long witness list.

He advised Cardinal to “streamline” that list.

Cardinal explained that investigators had talked to a number of witnesses who had information about Reed’s statements and actions before the shooting.

Austintown police Detective Douglas Scharsu testified in an earlier hearing that he took statements from people present when Davis was shot, who said Reed was nicknamed “Hitman.” The detective said he took statements from people who heard Reed brag to them that he had bombed cars in Atlanta and that he had an associate who would pay him to kill people.

Police said witnesses in the home the day of the shooting said Davis asked Reed if he had any guns; Reed led Davis to a bedroom; and witnesses heard a gunshot.

Reed said the gun went off while Davis was holding it, but lab testing indicated that Reed had fired it, authorities said.

Reed’s defense lawyer, Atty. Joseph W. Gardner, sought the delay in the trial, asking for and receiving permission to hire a second firearms expert to analyze the firearm used in the shooting.

If convicted, Reed faces a prison sentence of 15 years to life.