Judge denies murder suspect’s motion to drop charges

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A judge has overruled a motion by a defendant in a capital-murder case to have his case dismissed because he did not receive a preliminary hearing.

Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court overruled the motion by Kevin D. Agee Jr., 26, of West Ravenwood Avenue, a defendant in the September 2010 shooting death of Thomas Repchic, 74, and wounding of Repchic’s wife, Jacqueline, also 74.

In a court hearing last week, Agee contended his rights were violated because he did not receive a preliminary hearing before the charges against him were presented to a grand jury.

Dawn Cantalamessa, an assistant county prosecutor, however, argued Agee would only have been entitled to a preliminary hearing if he had not been indicted by a grand jury within 15 days of his initial court appearance.

Because he was indicted within the 15-day period, Agee was not entitled to a preliminary hearing or a dismissal, Cantalamessa said.

“Once the grand jury has returned an indictment against a defendant, a preliminary hearing is no longer necessary,” Judge Sweeney wrote in her Wednesday ruling.

Agee remains jailed under $5 million bond pending his March 12, 2012, jury trial.