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Amato to plead guilty to undisclosed charges
The case has been pending for more than two years.
LISBON — Jack C. Amato Jr. is scheduled to plead guilty today to undisclosed charges in the shooting death of his wife.
Amato, 39, of Wellsville, has been facing a murder charge in her death. Court officials who confirmed the plea agreement did not know to what charge he would plead. Amato also is facing charges that he had guns and bombs after he was released on monitored house-arrest after he was charged in the death.
Court officials involved in the case acknowledged Wednesday that the plea hearing has been set for 10 a.m. today but did not want to comment further.
The jury selection for Amato’s trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday before Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, who has been hearing both cases.
Amato had told investigators that he shot his wife after they argued at their home at 1200 Commerce St., Wellsville. Authorities were notified of the shooting about 1:40 p.m. July 1, 2007.
Tonia Brundage Amato, 25, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Amato told authorities that she had fired at him and that he returned fire, shooting her once between the eyes. She was found face down on the floor in a living room area near a .22- caliber pistol.
Authorities seized a .22- caliber pistol and a spent shell and a .45-caliber revolver and a spent shell. Police found several guns in the house.
Court documents later indicated that the weapon that Amato said he used to shoot and kill his wife wasn’t the weapon that killed her.
Lynn A. Grimshaw of Wheelersburg, Ohio, was named a special prosecutor in the case to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. Robert Herron, the county prosecutor, is a Democrat, and the defendant’s father is a prominent Democrat who is on the county health board, which is represented by the prosecutor’s office.
Since the bombs and guns were discovered, Amato has been in the county jail.
wilkinson@vindy.com