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Defense files motions in death of man, wounding of his wife
YOUNGSTOWN
Attorneys are asking a Mahoning County judge to consider a number of issues concerning the death penalty in a highly publicized 2010 murder case.
Aubrey Toney, represented by Attys. John B. Yuhasz and Paul Conn, appeared Wednesday before Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a hearing on several defense motions.
Toney, 29, of Youngstown, has been indicted on charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault in the murder of Thomas Repchic, 74, and wounding of Repchic’s wife, Jacqueline, 74. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
The Cadillac driven by Thomas Repchic, with his wife as a passenger, was hit by gunfire in a drive-by shooting Sept. 25, 2010.
One side of the courtroom was filled with family and friends supporting Toney. He smiled and waved at those seated in the spectators’ section when he entered the courtroom.
The other side was filled with an equal number of Repchic family members and their supporters. The groups entered the courtroom simultaneously to listen to the arguments, then left without saying anything.
Yuhasz asked the court to dismiss the death- penalty specification attached to the charges, saying the state’s death penalty is not in line with the Ohio Constitution. He also said the specification is attached to some cases such as Toney’s, but not other cases containing similar circumstances.
Yuhasz also filed a motion asking that prosecutors be required to show why the case should be considered one that merits the death penalty before a jury is selected.
He also asked that the jury in the case, once selected, not be told that their vote in favor of death in the case is only a recommendation.
Judges do have the power to overturn a recommendation of death from the jury, but Yuhasz said he only knows of about seven cases in the state where a judge has used that power, which makes the jury’s recommendation of death, most often, the actual sentence.
Judge Sweeney said she likely would issue a ruling sometime next week on all the defense motions.