DeVengencie family wants to know why

Photo by: Ed Runyan

Photo

COURT DATE: Adreen I. Mitchell and his attorney, James Lewis, of the Ohio Public Defender's Office, listen to proceedings in Trumbull County Common Pleas COuty. MItchell was present for an initial appearance Monday; he is charged in the slaying of Fred A. DeVengencie, 89, owner of Freddie's Diner in Warren; and the wounding of Fred's son, Anthony DeVengencie, 71.

By Ed Runyan

There was a struggle with a gun belonging to one of the victims before the two men were shot, police said.

WARREN — With a suspect in custody in the death and wounding of their family members, the DeVengencie family now wants one more question answered: Why?

The family thanked law enforcement officials who gathered the evidence necessary to arrest Ardeen I. Mitchell of Youngstown on aggravated murder and other charges that could eventually put him on death row.

Alfred DeVengencie, son of Fred A. DeVengencie, 89, of Warren, who was killed Aug. 12 during a struggle with a robber at his restaurant, said family members hope investigators can find out at least one more thing.

They want to know why Mitchell picked Freddie’s Diner on North Park Avenue for the 9 a.m. robbery that led to the death of Fred and the wounding of his son, Anthony DeVengencie, 71, both of Warren.

Alfred, standing outside the courtroom of Judge Peter Kontos of the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, said Monday he wants to know what the connection was that led Mitchell to select the business.

He and his son, Alfred DeVengencie Jr., said Anthony is in stable condition. Authorities say he has been in a medically induced coma since the robbery and unable to speak to investigators.

Mitchell, 28, of Livingston Street, appeared in court on charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and three counts of aggravated robbery. He was arrested Saturday on a warrant signed by Judge Kontos earlier in the day. Public Defender Jim Lewis entered innocent pleas for Mitchell.

Judge Kontos ordered Mitchell placed in Trumbull County Jail without bond. County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins, in asking that bond be denied, said the offenses alleged are serious enough to warrant the death penalty upon conviction.

Mitchell’s next hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16 before Judge John M. Stuard, but Watkins said the prosecutor’s office will directly present the case to a county grand jury as soon as possible, which could lead to an indictment and a different hearing.

An affidavit filed by police and prosecutors in support of the arrest warrant said a man entered Freddie’s Diner a little before 9 a.m. with a gun and wearing a bandana over his face.

First he tried to rob a female employee, but she didn’t have any money. Then he obtained money from a waitress and from the cash register, the affidavit says.

The man then forced the two women and Fred A. DeVengencie, who was sitting at the front counter at the time, to the back of the restaurant, near the Sons of Italy club operated by the DeVengencie family. No customers were inside the restaurant.

The robber directed Fred to take money from the restaurant office, which is a room only big enough to fit one person comfortably. While he was in the office, one employee tried to close the office door on Fred and the robber.

At that point, Anthony came into the area and removed a firearm from a holster on his ankle. The robber emerged from the office and took the gun away from Anthony.

During the struggle, Fred struck the suspect numerous times over the head with a liquor bottle, which produced a great deal of blood, and then the suspect shot Fred in the neck, killing him almost immediately, the affidavit said.

The suspect then shot Anthony though his hand, with the bullet entering his mouth and bullet fragments lodging in his neck.

The bottle was sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, which notified local authorities Friday it had identified the DNA in the blood on the bottle as being a match of the DNA taken from Mitchell while he was in prison on a previous conviction.

The DNA on the liquor bottle was compared with the DNA of convicted felons whose information is contained in the National Combined DNA Index System. Dr. Louis Mattox, director of the BCI lab, said there is a “very strong probability” the DNA is that of Mitchell.

Warren Police, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Office, found Mitchell at about 3 p.m. Saturday at a Palmyra Road residence in Warren, the home of a female friend, said Warren Detective Wayne Mackey.

Mitchell has convictions for aggravated burglary and illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon in Mahoning County from 1999, and was released from prison Jan. 6 for robbing a Sharon bakery in 2002.

Mackey said he and other investigators tracked a large number of leads in the case since the crime occurred, but none of them pointed to Mitchell.

The only dealings with Mitchell Warren police have had was when he was arrested at about 11 p.m. Feb. 17 after a chase involving Niles and Warren police that ended when Warren officers flattened his car tires and then caught him on foot near South Street and Parkman Road.

He was charged with failure to comply and resisting arrest in that case.

runyan@vindy.com