Guardianship set up, gag order imposed in Crawford case

Guardianship set up, gag order imposed in Crawford case

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County’s Probate Court judge has imposed an emergency guardianship on a teenager who escaped from the Jan. 23 East Side house fire in which six people died, and that judge also has designated a bank as guardian of the victims’ estate.

Meanwhile, the judge who will preside over the trial of the arson and murder suspect has imposed a gag order on lawyers in the death penalty criminal proceeding.

Probate Court Judge Mark A. Belinky designated the Rev. Lewis Macklin II, who has been counseling the victims’ family, as the guardian of Julius Crawford, 17, who escaped from the burning house at 1645 Stewart Ave., but lost his mother in the blaze.

The probate judge also named National City Bank as the guardian of the victims’ estate and said that bank will take control of all funds raised to date for the benefit of the surviving children and will be the depository for all future contributions.

Donations may be made at any NCB branch and designated for the “Crawford Guardianship,” the judge said this morning.

During a pre-trial hearing earlier this morning in the criminal case, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum instructed all lawyers engaged in the forthcoming trial of Michael A. Davis, 18, of Bennington Avenue, on aggravated arson and aggravated murder charges not to make any statements to the media about the case and to confine their public comments to courtroom proceedings.

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