Second arrest made in robbery

By Ed Runyan

A detective declined to discuss whether Wells is a suspect in the Freddie’s Diner slaying.

WARREN — Police have arrested a man who they said took part in a robbery Aug. 11 with Ardeed Mitchell, who is accused of shooting to death the owner of Freddie’s Diner the next day.

Police arrested Freddie F. Wells, 23, of Palmyra Road, on Friday afternoon in the Aug. 11 armed robbery of a Dairy Queen at 1628 W. Market St.

Warren Police Detective Jeff Hoolihan said Ardeed I. Mitchell, 28, of Livingston Street, Youngstown, was the second person involved in the 5 p.m. robbery. Mitchell was arrested at a female’s residence on Palmyra Road a week ago on murder charges.

When Mitchell was indicted last week in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, he was charged with the Dairy Queen robbery in addition to the killing of Fred A. DeVengencie and other crimes associated with the robbery of Freddie’s Diner on North Park Avenue on Aug. 12.

Hoolihan said he could not discuss many of the details in Wells’ arrest, except to say that forensics evidence led to Wells’ arrest, just as forensics evidence led police to identify Mitchell as a suspect in the Freddie’s robbery.

Hoolihan was working on the Dairy Queen robbery, and Detective Wayne Mackey was working on the Freddie’s case, but after Mitchell’s arrest, Mackey gave Hoolihan information that led them to Wells, Hoolihan said, declining to be specific.

Hoolihan echoed the comments of Mackey last week in saying that the work of forensics detectives Michael Merritt and Michael Stabile provided the department with the physical evidence that made it possible to arrest Mitchell and Wells.

“Nothing would have come about from a lot of this without the good job of Stabile and Merritt. Without the DNA match, we would not have the robbery” suspects in custody, Hoolihan said.

Stabile and Merritt retrieved a liquor bottle with blood on it from the scene of the Freddie’s robbery. Police said DeVengencie, 90, hit his assailant with the bottle during the robbery before being fatally shot in the neck.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation later said the DNA from blood on the bottle matched a DNA sample of Mitchell’s that he gave while previously in prison.

DeVengencie’s son, Anthony DeVengencie, 71, was shot in the face during the robbery and is recovering. Both men are from Warren.

Hoolihan declined to comment on whether police think Wells had a role in the diner robbery.

Judge Terry Ivanchak of Warren Municipal Court arraigned Wells on Monday in the Trumbull County Jail because a power outage knocked out the video arraignment system normally used by the court.

Wells pleaded innocent and was ordered jailed without the chance to make bond. A preliminary hearing is set for 10:15 a.m. Friday before Judge Ivanchak.

Two female employees said two men entered the Dairy Queen building through the unsecured rear door, robbed the cash register at gunpoint and fled on foot.

Meawhile, Mitchell pleaded innocent Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to his robbery charge in the Dairy Queen holdup and the charges from the diner robbery that could land him on death row.

Judge John M. Stuard, presiding over Mitchell’s case, refused to allow Mitchell the opportunity to make bond. Mitchell’s next pretrial hearing will be Oct. 15 before Judge Stuard.

Mitchell faces charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

runyan@vindy.com