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City man convicted of murder
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Darold Shorter, 41, was arraigned Friday morning for the killing of Lamont Brown, 33. He was already in jail on an unrelated criminal charge when the arrest warrant was issued. The victim was found stabbed to death in his home on Earle Avenue on Jan. 28.
YOUNGSTOWN
A 42-year-old Youngstown man could spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of murder in the death of his 33-year-old neighbor.
An eight-woman, four-man jury hearing the trial in the courtroom of Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court took little more than an hour Thursday to find Darold Shorter, of East Earle Avenue, guilty of killing Lamont Brown on Jan. 28, 2010.
Jurors began deliberations early Thursday afternoon. They had to decide if Shorter committed the crime with the intended purpose to commit murder or Brown, 33, incited Shorter to rage before the killing.
Prosecutors said Shorter stabbed Brown, of West Earle Avenue, 35 times in the back, stomach, neck and face in a jealous fit after Brown refused to give him more money or other assistance to support himself and his family.
Shorter’s lawyer argued his client does not deny stabbing Brown, but said the act was committed after Shorter became enraged because Brown backed out of a drug deal leaving him destitute.
The difference between the two theories would mean the difference between a murder conviction and a voluntary-manslaughter conviction.
Shorter faces 15 years to life imprisonment on the murder charge. The penalty for the manslaughter charge would have been between three and 10 years in prison. Judge D’Apolito will sentence Shorter at a later date.
Rebecca Doherty, an assistant county prosecutor, told the jury in her summation that manslaughter should not be the verdict because there is no doubt that Shorter purposely caused the death of Brown — a man who was said to have been his friend and had provided him financial help in the past.
“Murder is purposely causing the death of another. ... This murder was done purposely. He meant to take his life by stabbing him in the parts of the body where he was stabbed,” she said.
Doherty reminded jurors of the testimony of Shorter’s wife, who at first told police her husband was home the night of the murder, but later changed her story to say that Shorter was not home and returned covered in blood.
“Lamont Brown did not do anything to justify what happened to him,” the prosecutor said.
Atty. Douglas King, representing Shorter, told jurors the facts warranted a guilty verdict of manslaughter not murder.
He said there was no reason for Shorter to purposely kill Brown, and the inference to jealousy makes no sense because Shorter took nothing from the house after the killing.
King said Shorter and Brown planned to enter into a scheme to sell drugs, but Brown backed out, leaving Shorter destitute and even less able to pay his bills or care for his family. He said the situation caused Shorter to go into a rage.
“In Darold’s mind, he thinks the reason his family is about to be evicted is because of Lamont Brown; it’s his fault. ... In Darold’s mind, it’s all Lamont’s fault,” he said.
King also said Shorter owns a gun, but he did not take the weapon to Brown’s home because he did not intend to kill him.