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Motion filed in YSU fraternity shooting case
YOUNGSTOWN
The trial of two men charged in the murder and mass shooting off the Youngstown State University campus has been moved to Akron, and now one of those accused wants to keep information about the conviction of a co-defendant from potential jurors.
The trial of Mark Jones and Jamelle Jackson will begin the Monday after Thanksgiving in Summit County Common Pleas Court. The trial had been set to take place in Mahoning County, but prosecutors, defense attorneys and Judge John M. Durkin all agreed that it would be best if it were moved.
The change of venue was necessary because of extensive publicity surrounding the case in Mahoning County, they said.
It is the first time in 19 years that a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge granted a change of venue and moved a trial to another Ohio county.
Atty. Douglas B. Taylor, representing Jackson, now has filed another motion with the court.
This time, Taylor is asking the court to keep information about the conviction of Columbus Jones, a co-defendant in the case, away from jurors in Akron. Columbus Jones, who is the brother of Mark Jones, was convicted by a jury in Youngstown of the murder of Jamail Johnson, a 25-year-old YSU senior, and the wounding of the 11 surviving victims. Columbus Jones was sentenced by Judge Durkin to 92 years to life in prison.
Taylor, in his motion to the court, said the conviction of Columbus Jones is not relevant to the case against his client and therefore should be excluded.
“A jury might well conclude that the conviction of Columbus Jones would enhance the credibility of witnesses and reason that, if there were two shooters and Columbus Jones has been convicted, then the second shooter must be Jamelle Jackson,” he said.
There was extensive testimony at Columbus Jones’ trial implicating Jamelle Jackson as a second shooter at the house party.
Judge Durkin has taken the matter under advisement and will issue a ruling at a later date.
When a change of venue occurs, the judge, his bailiff and the prosecuting and defense lawyers go to the county to which the trial is transferred, and a jury is selected and the trial is conducted in the new location.
Two other defendants in the case, Demetrius Wright, who is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice; and Brandon Carter, who is charged with obstructing justice; are scheduled for pretrial hearings in early November.