Retrial begins in 2004 robbery

WARREN — The retrial of a Youngstown man who has spent two years in prison began Tuesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Anthony J. Smith, 47, is being retried in the courtroom of Judge Andrew Logan after the 11th District Court of Appeals found that Judge Logan didn’t instruct the jury in the first trial to consider lesser offenses.

Smith was sentenced in 2005 to 21 years in prison for the Sept. 11, 2004, robbery at the BP station at Belmont Avenue and Gypsy Lane in Liberty Township.

A second defendant, Lawrence J. Johnson, pleaded guilty to complicity to aggravated robbery and was sentenced in 2005 to 10 years in prison.

The appellate court ruled Judge Logan didn’t instruct the jury to consider a lesser charge and sent the case back to the lower court for retrial.

According to the appellate court, there was testimony that Smith had a handgun while in the service station. Other evidence, however, showed he didn’t have the gun while inside the station.