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Figueroa acquitted in 2010 slaying
YOUNGSTOWN
A jury of seven women and five men acquitted David Figueroa in the April 21, 2010, shooting death of Emmanuel Izquierdo on the city’s East Side.
Figueroa, 28, of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, was acquitted of aggravated murder with a firearm specification Tuesday afternoon after the jury deliberated for a combined total of 61/2 hours Monday and Tuesday.
The trial, which began last week, was before Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Figueroa was released after the verdict from Mahoning County jail, where he had awaited his trial for about a year.
“We always knew the truth, and we just finally had our day in court to explain it to 12 people who made the right decision,” said Jeffrey Limbian, lawyer for Figueroa.
Limbian said he believes he won the case because city police Detective Darryl Martin testified there was no evidence that Figueroa shot anyone.
“We demonstrated that there was no evidence that he was complicit in any way in the sad death of Mr. Izquierdo,” Limbian added.
Jennifer McLaughlin, the assistant county prosecutor who represented the state, declined to comment after the verdict was read.
With no positive identification on him, Izquierdo was found in the 100 block of North Lane Avenue shortly after he was shot, face down on the ground, with three bullet holes in the back of his head and bullet holes in the back of his neck, his back, forearms and buttocks. Police found 15 spent 9mm shell casings nearby.
In a court filing, McLaughlin said an Ohio Adult Parole Authority officer heard the gunshots and saw a silver Honda with two men inside flee the shooting scene about 11:15 a.m.
Police later found that car abandoned on Grandview Avenue with gunshot residue on its steering wheel and an identification card belonging to Figueroa inside it, McLaughlin wrote.
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents saw that car on North Lane Avenue before the shooting and believed it was involved in a drug transaction, McLaughlin added.
Figueroa’s fianc e, Kayla Cain, 21, has pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for falsely reporting to police that the silver Honda, which belonged to her, was stolen on the day of the shooting. Judge Durkin will sentence her at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 3.