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Man found guilty of kidnapping
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
A jury reached a split verdict in the trial of a man accused of torturing his former girlfriend for hours in 2008.
Hester Howell Jr., 40, has been on trial this week before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges of assault, kidnapping and felonious assault and attempted murder. A charge of domestic violence against Howell had been dropped.
A jury deliberated for several hours Friday before finding Howell guilty of assault and kidnapping. The jury found the South Side man not guilty of attempted murder and felonious assault.
Howell will be sentenced at a later date.
In July 2008, 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.
After about three hours, she was able to escape, she said.