Plea averted in attempted murder case

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A plea deal in a February shooting case has instead been averted.

Algernon Franklin, 24, of Redgate Lane, had a pretrial hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Tuesday before Judge John Durkin on charges of attempted murder, felonious assault, aggravated robbery, carrying concealed weapons and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He went over a plea form for about a half-hour with his lawyer, Doug Taylor, which is standard whenever someone accepts a plea.

After they were finished, however, a family member came into court and told Franklin not to do anything until his mother arrived.

The plea was put on hold, and a trial date set for Monday also was pushed back, said a spokeswoman for Judge Durkin. Franklin remains in the Mahoning County jail.

Franklin is charged with wounding a man during a Feb. 17 shooting at a 224 Wood St. parking lot. Police said the man Franklin is accused of shooting was a friend he was attempting to rob.

Police said Franklin fired eight shots at the victim, and the victim was struck several times. The victim was able to say someone named “Al” shot him, police reports said.

Franklin also had a gunshot-residue test administered. He tested positive for firing a gun, and had a 9mm handgun on him when he was arrested at the WRTA bus station on West Federal Street. The victim in the shooting was shot with a 9mm.

A new court date for Franklin has not been set.