Man indicted on vehicular-homicide charges

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A 29-year-old East Midlothian Boulevard man has been indicted by a Mahoning County grand jury on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault stemming from a Feb. 3 accident in the 700 block of Wilson Avenue.

The driver of the car, Christopher Kelso, was indicted Thursday in the crash that killed his passenger, Pamela Kennedy, 28, of Boardman, and injured another passenger, Javier Colon, 29, of Youngstown.

The car swerved left of center at Prospect Street, entered a grass devil strip, struck a utility pole and landed upside down with its three occupants trapped inside, police said.

Also indicted was Richard Rice, 42, of North Lake- view Avenue, who is charged with attempted murder and felonious assault with gun specifications in the June 8 shooting of Jevan Fitzgerald, 17, of South Main Street.

Rice also faces charges of improperly handling a gun in a motor vehicle and being a felon with a gun, also dating back to June 8.

Witnesses said Rice left his car and cursed and threatened juveniles who were playing basketball in the street in front of 46 N. Lakeview Ave., returned to his car, retrieved a handgun and fired, hitting Fitzgerald in his neck and shoulder. After being shot, Fitzgerald was hospitalized in critical condition in St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Also indicted was Jeffrey T. Shorter, 41, of Orange Avenue, who was charged with aggravated robbery with a gun specification and being a felon with a gun in a Christmas Eve robbery at Walgreen’s drug store, 2864 McCartney Road.

In the Dec. 24, 2009, incident, which was captured on store video, the robber threatened to kill the clerk, grabbed the cash-register drawer after the clerk pulled it out, and fired into the floor before fleeing, a police report said.