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Jury to see house in assault trial
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
The trial is under way for a man accused of beating his girlfriend and firing three shots at her during a dispute two years ago.
Hester Howell Jr., 40, appeared Monday before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges of kidnapping and felonious assault. Attorney Natasha Frenchko, an assistant county prosecutor, and Atty. Jeff Limbian, representing Howell, finished choosing a jury to hear the case late Monday afternoon.
The jury is slated today to view the South Side house where the incident reportedly took place. After viewing the property, the jury will listen to opening statements from the prosecution and defense.
The situation leading to Howell’s court appearance began one afternoon in July 2008 when police were sent to the 2500 block of Glenwood and found Howell’s 41-year-old girlfriend naked and bleeding from the head. She told officers that she had managed to escape from Howell’s home and flag down a passing motorist, who took her to a pay phone to call 911.
The injured woman said she and Howell, 38 at the time, had been drinking at a barbecue on Marion Avenue before the attack, reports show. She told police that Howell demanded they leave the party and, once back at his place, he accused her of infidelity, forced her to strip and punched her repeatedly before firing three rounds between her legs as she sat on the floor. The shots were fired so close that she had noticeable burn marks on her inner thighs, police said.
After about three hours, she was able to escape. The woman was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment.
Several canisters of tear gas were lobbed into 1823 Glenwood Ave. by members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force Crisis Response Team in an effort to get Howell out of the home. Officers who then searched the South Side home didn’t find Howell. Howell was arrested one day later while walking on Erie Street near Williamson Avenue on the South Side.