Prosecutor: Witness must testify or face possible charge

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A witness to a double homicide who was arrested last week, brought to court and declared a material witness will have to testify at trial or face a possible escape charge, a prosecutor said.

Keyonna Vaughn, 21, of Court Court, witnessed the Aug. 2 shooting deaths of Mocha Jones, 25, and Donte Broadus, 31, court documents say.

Afterward, Michael L. McDonald, 25, of Lener Avenue Southwest, charged with aggravated murder in the deaths, asked Vaughn to travel to Florida and stay with his mother, documents say.

Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, said he asked Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to order her confined to Trumbull County jail or released on bond so that she will be available to testify against McDonald.

“I just wanted her arrested because she’s a material witness, and I don’t want her leaving the area,” Becker said.

Vaughn signed a $2,500 personal-recognizance bond and paid money to a bonding company for a $2,500 cash-surety bond.

By not showing up for court, Vaughn would be violating the conditions of her bond and could be arrested and charged with escape, Becker said.

Ohio does not have a witness-protection program of the type used by the federal government, Becker said.

“We don’t have the money,” he said.