Trumbull corrections officer freed, inmates jailed after hostage standoff tonight

WARREN

After five hours, three Trumbull County jail inmates gave up their hostage, a corrections officer, and were taken back into custody at about 8:30 tonight. The officer was not injured.

The three inmates are in jail on serious criminal charges, one of them facing the possibility of the death penalty in a Warren homicide and another recently sentenced to 28 years in prison. They took the corrections officer hostage at 3:30 p.m.

The officer was held against his will with a homemade knife through much of the ordeal. His name was not released.

The inmates were going to be transported to another facility, and charges related to the standoff may be filed as early as Thursday.

The inmate facing the death penalty is David Martin, charged in a 2012 homicide.

Martin told a corrections officer in February that when he goes on trial, he will grab a gun from a courthouse security officer because “I’m not going to Death Row.” Personnel with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office were alerted at the time to be extra cautious with Martin.

Maj. Thomas Stewart of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office briefed reporters a few hours after the incident began, saying Martin and fellow inmates Kevin Johns and Richard Ware were watching television during the standoff, so he wouldn’t comment on the matter on-camera.

Martin had indicated that he wanted to talk to the media about his criminal case, Stewart said.

Martin, 29, of Cleveland, is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 27 in the killing of Jeremy Cole, 21, and the wounding of Melissa Putnam, 27, at Putnam’s house on Oak Street.

Martin already received a 22-year prison term in federal court in October for a Warren gun crime.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.