Capital murder trial setSFlbfor March

The accused could face lethal injection if convicted of the murder.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — Atty. Greg Meyers of Columbus, chief trial counsel for the Ohio Public Defender’s Office, will represent Ardeed I. Mitchell, 28, of Youngstown in a capital murder trial in Trumbull County.

Mitchell’s other attorney will be Jim Lewis of the Trumbull County Public Defender’s Office.

Among the charges Mitchell faces are aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. He is accused of a robbery and two shootings Aug. 12 at Freddie’s Diner on North Park Avenue in Warren that resulted in the death of Fred DeVengencie, 90, owner of the restaurant, and the wounding of his son, Anthony DeVengencie, 71.

Mitchell appeared with his lawyers Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for a pretrial hearing before Judge John M. Stuard.

Lewis said the defense and prosecution have exchanged 90 percent of the evidence in the case. Another pretrial hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 14. Mitchell’s trial is set for March 3.

If convicted of the charges against him, Mitchell could be sentenced to die by lethal injection.

Meyers was part of the defense team that represented convicted murderer Danny Lee Hill during proceedings in Trumbull County that took place to determine whether Hill should be spared the death penalty. Hill killed 12-year-old Raymond Fife, of Warren, in 1985.

The defense contended that Hill is exempt from execution because he is mentally retarded, but visiting judge Judge Thomas P. Curran of Cuyahoga County rejected that argument.