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Judge to decide use of identification
YOUNGSTOWN
A county judge will decide if the photo identification of an accused killer by a woman previously too scared to appear in court should be admitted into evidence in an upcoming trial.
Attorneys Lynn Maro and John B. Juhasz, representing Jamar Houser, 20, of Volney Road, filed a motion before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to suppress an identification made by a 36-year-old city woman.
Houser is facing the death penalty if he is convicted of the Jan. 23, 2010, slaying of Angeline Fimognari, 80, of Sheridan Road, after she left an 8 a.m. Mass that day at St. Dominic Church on the city’s South Side.
Fimognari was shot in the head. Her purse was missing, leading police to believe she was a victim of a robbery turned deadly.
Judge D’Apolito said he will issue a ruling in writing by Monday on whether to allow the identification.
The suppression hearing was supposed to get under way three days ago, but the witness failed to appear, saying she had started a new job and could not make the court appearance. Rebecca Doherty, an assistant county prosecutor, said the witness also expressed some concerns about her personal safety.
On Wednesday, Doherty went to the woman’s place of employment and brought her to the courthouse on a lunch break to testify at the hearing. The witness took the stand about noon and testified for more than an hour before Houser, his mother, attorneys and reporters.
During her testimony, the woman said she previously had heard rumors that she might be in danger because of her involvement in the case. She told defense attorneys no direct threats were made against her, but said she has not spoken openly about the case since hearing those rumors.
The witness told the court she was driving in the area of the church on the morning of Jan. 23 headed to Boardman with a friend when she saw Houser running in the direction away from the church. She said he came so close to her car that she almost hit him.
The woman called police later that night and reported having seen a man running from the church around the time of the shooting.
Police came to the school the woman had been attending and showed her a set of photos from which she picked Houser as the man she saw running from the church.
The defense seeks to exclude the photo lineup identification of Houser from evidence in the trial, saying the detective’s presentation was unduly suggestive. They also said the woman only claims to have seen the man briefly and from the side.