Shooting victim had bullet in brain when questioned


By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A city police detective testified at an evidence-suppression hearing Wednesday that a victim in a March shooting on the South Side still had a bullet in his brain when he interviewed him 10 days after he was shot.

Lt. Doug Bobovnyik testified before Judge John Durkin in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that he interviewed Jacquez Brown, 22, at St. Elizabeth Health Center on March 25, 10 days after he was wounded in the head during a shooting at a store at South and Dewey avenues and lapsed in a coma.

Bobovnyik testified that he showed a photo of the suspect, 22-year-old Dashonti Baker, to Brown, and Brown identified Baker as the person who had shot him that day.

Baker’s attorney, Lou DeFabio, is trying to have the photo thrown out, meaning it would not be shown to a jury, because police did not use a proper photo lineup and also because Brown was heavily medicated when he was interviewed.

The hearing is expected to be continued next week.

Baker was arrested April 4 in Decatur, Ga., by U.S. marshals and faces a count of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault. Police say he fired at an SUV Brown was sitting in at the store with three other people.

Bobovnyik said Brown’s mother called him March 25 and told him her son had come out of his coma the day before and wanted to talk to police. He said that Baker’s name already had come up in the case thanks to work by Detective Sgt. Dave Sweeney, but Sweeney was out of town, so he went to interview Brown.

Bobovnyik said he asked Brown questions about what happened before the shooting because he wanted to make sure he remembered clearly, and he also was wary that Brown might have been coached by his family. He said Brown answered questions about what happened before the shooting took place and that he had known Baker since grade school. He showed Brown a picture of Baker, and Brown identified Baker as the person who shot him.

Under cross-examination from DeFabio, Bobovnyik said that Brown did not know the make or model of the car Baker was supposed to be in, or the location where he was shot or Baker’s age.

DeFabio said that under state law, 10 folders with photos of suspects must be in a photo lineup, and a person not involved with the case has to show the photos to the witness. Bobovnyik said he took only one photo with him because his interview was not part of a photo lineup.

By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use.

» Accept
» Learn More