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Grand jury indicts 2 in deaths in Youngstown, Poland Twp.
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Drake
YOUNGSTOWN
A Mahoning County grand jury this week handed up indictments against a man accused in a South Side homicide and a woman charged in a Poland Township vehicular homicide.
Walter Drake, 26, of Hilton Avenue, has been charged with murder and a firearm specification with a possibility of life in prison if convicted. The charges are tied to the shooting death of 24-year-old Dion Weatherspoon earlier this month.
Drake is in the Mahoning County jail on a $750,000 bond. His attorney, Lou Defabio, has indicated that Drake will claim self-defense at trial.
The shooting occurred at Drake’s house at 246 Hilton Ave. on the South Side about 11:30 a.m. June 13. Weatherspoon was found lying dead in Drake’s driveway with six bullet holes in his body.
Police have said Drake and Weatherspoon are believed to have been friends at some point; the matter leading to the shooting started as an argument, possibly about a theft or a female.
Weatherspoon was the city’s 15th homicide of 2012.
Drake’s house was damaged significantly by arson about 11 p.m. one day after the shooting. Fire Capt. Alvin Ware, chief fire investigator said the fire is believed to be related to the shooting, but no arrest has been made in the deliberately set fire.
Damage to the house after the fire was estimated at $16,000.
Since the time of the fire, aluminum siding has been ripped from the house and graffiti has been spray- painted on portions of the house.
The grand jury, in a separate matter, also handed up an indictment against Jill Bissett, 47, of Struthers, on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and driving while under the influence. Those charges stem from the May 4 death of 20-year-old Tammy Miller of Youngstown.
Miller was killed while riding a motorcycle at 6:20 p.m. on state Route 289 (East Wood Street) just east of Sixth Street in Poland Township.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Canfield Post said Bissett was westbound on Route 289 in a 2002 Ford Taurus when she traveled left of center and struck Miller’s motorcycle, which was eastbound.
Both women were transported to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where Miller was pronounced dead. Bissett suffered minor injuries.