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Opening statements made in murder trial
YOUNGSTOWN
Dreon A. Williams is guilty in the murder of one man and the wounding of another in an Aug. 6, 2010, shooting in Campbell, Robert J. Andrews, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, told jurors in his opening statement in Williams’ trial.
Williams’ lawyer, Michael O. Kivlighan, said, however, the survivor, who was shot in the leg, will testify that he doesn’t know who wounded him and who killed Anthony Harrison, 20, of Chambers Street, Campbell.
The statements were made Monday afternoon in Williams’ trial before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Williams, of Elliot Lane, is charged with murder in the death of Harrison and with attempted murder and felonious assault concerning the wounded man, with firearm specifications, and tampering with evidence.
Williams was only 17 at the time of the shootings, but he was bound over from juvenile court for trial as an adult.
On Oct. 5, a jury acquitted Williams’ brother, Dionte Robinson, 19, also of Elliot Lane, of identical charges in the same shootings, with the jury forewoman saying the prosecution had “a lot of holes in its story.”
Andrews said Williams and Robinson both fired guns, which police later found nearby, together with compatible shell casings at the shooting scene.
Andrews said Williams’ DNA was on one of the handguns, but he acknowledged: “The state cannot prove to you who fired what gun, which bullets came from what gun or what gun actually killed Anthony Harrison” or wounded his friend.
Dr. Joseph Ohr, the forensic pathologist and deputy county coroner, who performed the autopsy on Harrison, will testify that Harrison was shot once in the back, with the bullet penetrating a lung and Harrison’s heart, Andrews said.
The shooting occurred at 13th Street and Tremble Avenue as Harrison and the surviving victim walked home from a church festival. Police believe the motive for the shooting was robbery.
Kivlighan told the jurors Williams’ DNA was found on only one gun, together with the DNA of other people on that same gun, and that Williams’ DNA was not found on sweatshirts police recovered near the shooting scene.
“Listen to the state’s witnesses. Scrutinize what they have to say, and apply common sense and reason,” Kivlighan urged the jurors.