Survivors describe fatal fire in testimony at Davis trial

YOUNGSTOWN — Those who survived a deliberately set house fire on Stewart Avenue testified about the fast spreading flames and thick smoke that claimed the lives of two women and four small children.

“The smoke hit me in the hallway, blazes were coming from the stairway,” Tameka Wilson, 19, said today from the witness stand in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. “I panicked. I was shocked. It was hard to breathe.”

Wilson, who jumped out a second floor window to safety, was called as a prosecution witness in the aggravated arson and murder case against 18-year-old Michael Davis of Bennington Avenue. The 29-count indictment against Davis carries death penalty specifications, which means he could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Wilson and four others escaped the burning house at 1645 Stewart in the predawn hours of Jan. 23.

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

Prosecutor Paul J. Gains said in his opening statement that Davis, angered over the theft of his cell phone, set the fire at 5:25 a.m. while everyone was asleep.

James S. Gentile, one of Davis’ defense lawyers, told the jury that the investigation produced the wrong person.

Ricky Wilson, 17, a neighbor of the Crawfords, also testified about escaping the fatal fire and admitted he took Davis’ cell phone. Wilson wiped tears from his eyes as he talked.

For more on this story, see Friday’s Vindicator or vindy.com