We lied, witnesses in case of convicted killer tell judge

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

Some family members of the victims feel justice is not being served.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mark Aaron Brown has been on Ohio’s death row for nearly 16 years, but new testimony from two witnesses could land him a new trial.

Brown is scheduled to die Feb. 4 for killing Isam Salman and Hayder Al-Turk in a North Side convenience store in January 1994. Brown, 21 at the time of the murders, was high on drugs when he entered the Midway Market on Elm Street and shot Salman, the store’s owner, and Al-Turk, a clerk working in the store.

Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court heard testimony Friday from two men who, as juveniles, testified against Brown during his trial.

Both gave the judge much different accounts of Brown’s role in the crime than that told to the court 16 years ago, but prosecutors say the men are being less than truthful.

Myzelle Arrington, a then 15-year-old juvenile in trouble with the law, testified against Brown during the 1994 trial. Arrington, now 31, says he lied on the witness stand in 1994 primarily to gain favor with prosecutors in regard to his own legal troubles.

Arrington, under direct questioning by Pamela J. Prude-Smithers, chief counsel, Office of the Ohio Public Defender, said he was in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center’s detention facility charged with assault when police questioned him about the convenience store shooting. He said police told him he could be charged as an accessory to the crime.

Arrington said he told police whatever he thought they might want to hear in order to save himself from any additional trouble. He said police told him to put a face with his story, and he ultimately identified Brown because he was shown an array of photos that included Brown’s photo.

Brown’s photo, Arrington said, stood out because it had been marked with a red dot.

Arrington said he wrote a letter to then Prosecutor James A. Philomena seeking leniency in exchange for his testimony. Prude-Smithers noted that Arrington only received 45 days in jail for an incident where he “shot up” his girlfriend’s house. Charges of felonious assault were reduced to misdemeanors in that case.

County Prosecutor Paul Gains questioned Arrington on every aspect of his interaction with police and Philomena in 1994. He also questioned Arrington on his lengthy criminal record, which includes burglary and assault on a teacher as a juvenile as well as robbery and possession of cocaine as an adult.

Arrington ultimately admitted he received no direct help in his criminal cases in 1994 as a result of his testimony.

Marcus Clark, 29, currently in the county jail on a list of charges unrelated to the case involving Brown, was next to take the stand. Clark, who was 13 at the time of the shooting, was in the store when the shooting took place and testified during the 1994 trial that Brown shot both men.

Clark told the court he also was untruthful in his 1994 testimony. He said police questioned him at the time without a parent or attorney and he was scared, thinking he, too, might be charged in connection with the shooting. He also said he had been in a boy’s camp serving time for robbery and was looking to gain favor with prosecutors.

Clark said Brown shot only one of the men in the store. He said another man, known only as “Boonie,” pulled out a gun and shot the other man while the victim stood in an aisle inside the store.

Gains and Richard Cordray, Ohio attorney general, said Clark’s statements are completely contrary to all evidence collected in the case.

They contend only one gun was used in the crime with the weapon and all shell casings collected. They also said both victims were found behind a counter in the store. No one, they said, was shot in an aisle.

New trial or not, some members of the victims’ families feel they have not seen justice in the 16-year-old case.

Terri Rasul, sister of Salman, said her brother left seven children behind who are forced to continually relive the tragedy of their father’s death. She said, regarding Brown, that it is incomprehensible that someone is “fighting for his rights.”

“He is a mass murderer,” she said. “This is very difficult. We are reliving it all over again. It’s sad the victims don’t have any rights. There are seven children sitting here going through this, and yet I don’t hear anyone standing up for the victims.”

Testimony in the hearing resumes Tuesday morning.

jgoodwin@vindy.com