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Judge rules on admissibility in slaying
The murder trial is set to begin Sept. 29.
YOUNGSTOWN — Any statements made by an Austintown man charged with fatally shooting a soldier that pertain to that shooting are likely admissible in a trial, a judge has ruled.
However, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum said statements the suspect, Donnie R. Reed, allegedly made about unrelated matters will be inadmissible, except under limited circumstances.
Reed, 49, of Burkey Road, is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 29 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on a murder charge in the April 4 death of Army Pvt. Randy Davis, 22, of Boardman and Youngstown, who was home on leave.
Davis suffered a gunshot wound to the forehead from Reed’s World War II-era .45-caliber handgun in Reed’s residence.
Davis asked Reed if he had any guns; Reed led Davis to a bedroom; and witnesses heard a gunshot, witnesses testified at a preliminary hearing.
During a pretrial hearing Friday, Reed’s lawyer, Joseph W. Gardner, urged the judge to exclude from the trial Reed’s alleged bragging to others he was a hit man for the mob, he’d killed a man on the city’s East Side and he had bombed cars in Atlanta.
Such alleged statements are of questionable relevance to this case, Gardner said.
“The danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues and misleading of the jury is definitely there if these statements do come in,” Gardner told the judge.
An Austintown detective said in July he was investigating Reed’s alleged bragging, and that detective hasn’t reported any confirmation the alleged crimes occurred, Gardner said.
“The evidence that Reed seeks to exclude is necessary to prove motive, intent and that the killing was not a mistake or accident,” Kenneth J. Cardinal, assistant county prosecutor, argued in a brief he filed Friday.
If Cardinal seeks to admit into the trial any statements unrelated to the April 4 shooting, Krichbaum told Cardinal to request a sidebar conference the jury won’t hear, at which the judge can decide whether they’re admissible.
Conflicting statements have been made about the April 4 events.
Davis’ brother, Ron, said Reed announced after the gun discharged he had shot Davis and asked his friends to call the police.
Reed initially told police he handed Randy Davis the gun, turned away and heard gunfire, but authorities said gunshot residue tests show Reed, not Randy Davis, fired the gun.
Gardner said in an earlier hearing the gun may have discharged accidentally.
Witnesses said there was no known animosity between Reed and Randy Davis and the men hadn’t argued that night.