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City men face additional murder charges
YOUNGSTOWN
Murder charges keep piling up against two city men already facing a litany of felony charges, including murder, attempted murder and felonious assault.
A Mahoning County grand jury Thursday handed up more aggravated- murder indictments with firearm specifications against Dewaylyn “Waylo” Colvin, of Nelson Avenue, and Michael Austin Jr., 19, of Midland Avenue.
The most recent murder charges are tied to the murders of Keith Ryan Slade, 20, of Cornell Avenue and 19-year-old Keara McCulough of Clearmont Avenue. They were found seated in a gray Pontiac, dead of gunshot wounds on Benford Lane in September 2012.
Police had been working on the theory that Slade was targeted because there was a history of violent acts directed toward him before his death.
Colvin and Austin already are in custody on other charges, including murder, and likely will be arraigned on the new charges in the coming weeks.
A Mahoning County grand jury in April handed up indictments against Colvin, Austin and Hakeem Henderson, 21, of Union Avenue, Salem, or San Diego, on two counts of murder, attempted murder, felonious assault and multiple counts of illegal possession of a weapon.
Those murder charges stem from two separate killings in 2011.
During the morning of Nov. 13, 2011, 23-year-old Adam Christian was shot and killed on Woodcrest Avenue on the East Side. On Nov. 16, Raymond “Remel” Hayes, 20, was found shot to death in a sparsely populated area of the East Side near Gerwig and Knapp avenues.
The attempted-murder charge applies to Austin who purportedly tried to kill a man in December 2012.
Colvin is in prison on unrelated charges. Colvin, who has been jailed previously for involuntary manslaughter and other drug offenses, pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking in drugs, possession of drugs, illegal possession of a weapon and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
The guilty pleas were part of a plea deal with prosecutors earlier this year.
Colvin, during his March sentencing, painted a picture of desperation for the court, saying he was left to care for an ailing mother and several younger siblings when he was 13.
He said even after a period of time in prison beginning in 2005, money and family issues forced him back into the life of a drug dealer.
Colvin was sentenced to 11 years on those charges.