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REPCHIC MURDER TRIAL: Shooting victim’s widow testifies
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Agee
YOUNGSTOWN
Jacquelyn Repchic told a Mahoning County jury about her recollections of the day she lost her husband — and her leg — in a shooting on the city’s South Side.
Prosecutors and police contend 26-year-old Kevin Agee, with co-defendant 30-year-old Aubrey Toney, shot and killed Thomas Repchic, 74, of Trenton Avenue, blocks away from the victims’ home on the city’s South Side in September 2010.
Opening statements in Agee’s trial began Monday after weeks of jury selection. A panel of seven men and five women, plus four alternate jurors, has been seated to hear the case.
Toney is a co-defendant in the case, but because both men face the death penalty if convicted, they will have separate trials.
Jacqueline Repchic was wheeled into the courtroom in a wheelchair by her grandson to take the witness stand and give jurors her account of what happened the day of the shooting.
She said her memory of some of the events is foggy, but she does remember hearing the sound of bullets hitting the car and telling her husband someone was shooting at them.
She said she tried to get out of the car and seek help after it stopped rolling, but she fell to the ground and realized her right leg had been virtually shot off.
Robert Andrews, an assistant county prosecutor, told the jury Thomas Repchic, a retired General Motors employee, drove to St. Dominic Church in his 1990 burgundy Cadillac to pick up his wife who worked part time at the church. The couple planned to attend a nephew’s wedding later on that day — Sept. 25, 2010.
Andrews said Toney had an ongoing feud with two men — Nathan Haynes, who also drove a 1990 burgundy Cadillac, and Ramses Terry. Toney borrowed a burgundy Dodge Durango from his cousin, and Toney and Agee were cruising the South Side in search of Haynes and Terry at virtually the same time Thomas Repchic was picking up his wife from the church.
“There came a time, through a cruel twist of fate, that Thomas Repchic drove past and shots rang out. The defendant and Aubrey Toney opened fire on that burgundy Cadillac,” said Andrews. “That red Cadillac is struck at least seven times ... Thomas Repchic is dead at the scene.”
Andrews told the jurors police later learned of the feud between Toney and the two other men, and the detail about the matching Cadillacs owned by the Repchics and Haynes.
Police also learned that Toney’s cousin owned a Durango matching the one used in the shooting.
Andrews said police obtained a search warrant for Agee’s home and found a cache of weapons and bulletproof vests. He said Agee was interviewed by police for more than an hour and a half, during which time he twice changed his story. He ultimately admitted being the driver of the Durango, but attempted to minimize his role in the crime.
“This case is going to be pieced together witness by witness. ... You have to sit and listen to everyone and those pieces will come together,” Andrews told the jury. “They are both cold-blooded killers. At the end of this trial, you will find Kevin Agee guilty.”
Atty. Rhys Cartwright-Jones, representing Agee, told jurors in his opening statement that his client was present at the time and driving the Dodge Durango used in the drive-by shooting, but he said Agee had no knowledge of Toney’s plans to shoot the two men with whom Toney had been feuding.
He said his client is a witness to a horrific crime, but not guilty of any wrong- doing.
“Kevin Agee is not responsible for the horrific death of Mr. Repchic or injury to Mrs. Repchic,” said Cartwright-Jones. “This was Aubrey Toney’s plan. ... Kevin Agee was not part of this beef.”
Cartwright-Jones said Agee and Toney got together the day of the shooting to watch college football. He said the two men were in the area of the shooting looking to meet a dealer to buy marijuana before watching the game.
Cartwright-Jones told jurors the dealer failed to show up at the designated meeting point so Toney and Agee drove away. He said moments later Toney unexpectedly pulled out a gun he had concealed in the car and began firing at the burgundy Cadillac.
Cartwright-Jones also admits his client did not readily come forward to authorities with information, but said Agee was fearful to do so after the shooting.