Trial set for Oct. 6 in fire that left 6 dead

There will be no unnecessary delay of the trial, a judge vows.

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge R. Scott Krichbaum has set an Oct. 6 trial date for Michael A. Davis, the 18-year-old charged with setting the Jan. 23 Stewart Avenue house fire that killed six people, including four children.

The Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge, who will preside over the trial, also ordered that potential jurors appear at the county courthouse Oct. 3 for an orientation. The judge also ordered that monthly pretrial hearings be set.

Davis, who is jailed without bond, is facing the death penalty.

Besides Carol Crawford, 46; her daughter, Jennifer R. Crawford, 23; and Jennifer’s four children, Ranaisha, 8; Jeannine, 5; Aleisha, 3; and Brandon, 2, died in the blaze.

Atty. James Gentile, the lead defense lawyer, said he believed he’d need at least a year to prepare to effectively represent Davis, of Bennington Avenue, at the trial, including four to six months to thoroughly examine reports supplied by the prosecution.

“If everybody properly engages in due diligence in this case, we ought to be able to try it a lot sooner than a year,” Judge Krichbaum said during a Tuesday pretrial scheduling conference. “I don’t know why this matter can’t be ready for trial in six months,” he said.

“Whatever date this court sets, we’ll be ready to go,” said county Prosecutor Paul J. Gains. Gains said his office had provided to the defense all of the prosecution’s evidence available to date, but more may be forthcoming.

The judge said potential motions concerning merger of some counts in the 29-count aggravated-murder and aggravated-arson indictment and the constitutionality of Ohio’s death penalty by lethal injection should be made as soon as possible.

“Those things need to be done now. They don’t need to be done a month before the trial,” Judge Krichbaum said. “I’m not going to delay the trial because things haven’t been filed that could have been filed before.”