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2 indicted in ’09 murders of 2 men
By John W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
A Mahoning County grand jury indicted two men this week in the murders of two men in 2009, and one of them also was indicted in the murder of a third man this year.
Joseph Moreland, 28, who is in the Mahoning County jail, and Kenneth Moncrief, 26, of Fairgreen Avenue, have been indicted on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and arson. The aggravated-murder charges carry a possible death- penalty sentence.
Moreland also has been indicted in a separate case on aggravated murder and robbery charges. Those charges carry a potential life sentence.
The indictment against Moreland and Moncrief stems from the deaths of Jaron L. Roland, 20, of Fairmont Avenue, and Darry B. Woods-Burt Jr., 19, of the city’s North Side.
The victims, who were described by family members at the time as inseparable first cousins, were found inside a burning car on West Avenue near the Mahoning River in August 2009. Both men were bound with duct tape, and bags had been placed over their heads.
Having determined that both men died of suffocation, the coroner’s office made a ruling of homicide. No stab or bullet wounds were found on the victims.
Lorenza Barnette, 28, of Lora Avenue is charged with two counts of aggravated murder with death-penalty specifications, two counts each of kidnapping and aggravated robbery, and arson in the Roland and Woods-Burt deaths.
Barnette is scheduled for trial in March before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
The separate indictment against Moreland is in the shooting death of Brian Greer, 32, of Republic Avenue, who was shot and killed March 29 on Lauderdale Avenue.
Witnesses told police someone drove past the Lauderdale residence firing at the house when Greer was shot. He was shot once in the head and multiple times in the body and was pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth Health Center.