Trumbull gets suit filed by freed murder convict

Two other men pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A lawsuit filed by a man convicted of participating in a Warren Township murder in 1998 and later set free after serving six years in prison has been transferred to Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit was filed in Franklin County by Shawn Armstrong, 36, of Warren, against the state of Ohio in care of Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann in August 2007. The case has been assigned to Judge Andrew Logan.

In the suit, Armstrong seeks to be ruled a “wrongfully imprisoned individual,” which would make him eligible for compensation through the Ohio Court of Claims, the suit says.

Armstrong was convicted in September 2001 of aggravated murder with a firearm specification and sentenced to a prison term of 23 years to life for the murder of Bradrick McMillan at the Elks Club on Highland Avenue.

But the 11th District Court of Appeals ruled in 2004 that Judge Logan erred in allowing the statements of co-defendant Art Bell to be used at trial. The statements were read by prosecutors, who said Bell made them to a detective before trial.

Bell testified he couldn’t remember making any statements to police.

Without Bell’s prior statements, there was no other link between him and the murder-for-hire scheme, the appellate court ruled. The Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from prosecutors.

In May 2006, five witnesses named in the original police report could not be located, Bell didn’t recall any details, and the coroner who handled the case was not available due to poor health.

Warren Township police have said that Armstrong, Lance Pough and Bell had planned to kill McMillan, who was scheduled to testify against Pough in a drug case.

Pough and Bell both pleaded guilty. Bell was sentenced to 11 years in prison, and Pough was sentenced to 18 years. Prosecutors said they don’t know the identity of the shooter.

Armstrong also filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in March against those involved in his prosecution. That case is pending.