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Calm rules in county court
Melvin Shaw pleads not guilty to murder
By John W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
The arraignment hearing for Melvin S. Shaw II, 18, of Idlewood Avenue in Youngstown Municipal Court in June ended in a melee, but proceedings in Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas Court were much more quiet.
With several county deputy sheriffs in attendance and security tight, Shaw was arraigned Tuesday morning before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney on charges of murder and attempted murder in the shooting death of Tracee Banks, 17, and attempted murder of Jamel Turner, 18, an Ohio State football recruit.
Shaw, through his attor- ney, Thomas E. Zena, entered a not-guilty plea to the charges and was quickly led from the courtroom by deputies.
Shaw is in the county jail on a bond of $750,000 for the murder charge and $500,000 for the charge of attempted murder. He will be back in court Monday before Judge James C. Evans for a pretrial. His trial is slated to begin Sept. 27.
Shaw entered the court wearing a county-issued orange jumpsuit, took his seat among a dozen others waiting to be arraigned and said nothing during the proceedings. Spectators in court to see Shaw sat quietly and left immediately after his turn before the judge.
Shaw’s arraignment at the city level last month did not go as smoothly.
After the July arraignment in municipal court, as family and friends of Banks and Shaw left the courtroom, an altercation broke out, and dozens of police officers rushed to the scene.
Wade Shaw, 35, of Youngstown, was charged with disorderly conduct, assault and resisting arrest and was taken to jail.
Police later arrested Michael Peace, 38, on charges of disorderly conduct and failure to disperse, and Clyde Hudson, 24, who lists addresses on Cook Avenue, Boardman, and Idlewood Avenue, Youngstown, for disorderly conduct and failure to disperse.