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Judge rules photo lineup admissible
YOUNGSTOWN
A man accused of robbing a North Side pizzeria at gunpoint wants the photo lineup that identified him thrown out of court, but a municipal-court judge says there is nothing wrong with the procedure used.
Stanley Croom, 44, of Plazaview Court, appeared before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Monday for a suppression hearing. He is charged with aggravated robbery and being a convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm.
Croom and Jeffrey Shorter, 41, of Orange Avenue, are charged in the reported armed robbery of Belleria Pizzeria on Wick Avenue two days after Christmas in 2009.
According to police, Croom went into the pizzeria just before 7:30 p.m., grabbed an employee over the counter and pointed a handgun at the woman. He reportedly ordered the employee to open the cash register and not to press any alarm buttons.
Police say Croom ran out of the store when the employee was unable to open the cash register.
Police, after an investigation and witness statements, arrested the two men on misdemeanor outstanding warrants and suspicion of robbery.
Croom was identified two days after the robbery via photo lineup by the woman he is accused of pointing a gun at during the crime. Atty. Anthony Meranto, representing Croom, said the witness could not properly identify the color of the jacket worn by the suspect in the robbery and described a man that did not completely match his client.
The woman, an employee at the pizzeria for more than 20 years, told the judge she could identify Croom because she was staring him in the eyes the whole time he held a gun on her. Meranto, however, pointed out that she could not identify his client during a previous court appearance where there were other men wearing identical orange jumpsuits.
Meranto, with noted objections from Rebecca Doherty, an assistant county prosecutor, also took issue with the procedure used during the photo lineup. He said a form used by Youngstown Police Department to explain what to look for during a photo lineup was not given to or signed by the witness until after she had selected his client’s photo.
Detective Donald Smith told the court he summarized the form for the victim before she identified Croom and he had her sign the form after she made the identification. He said it is no surprise the woman could make the identification.
Judge D’Apolito ultimately ruled the photo identification would be admissible. The judge ruled the gun charge and robbery charge against Croom would be separated for purposes of trial.
Judge D’Apolito said he will make a ruling on a motion for separate trials for Croom and Shorter at a later date.