Appeals court agrees: Brown murder charge should be reinstated

YOUNGSTOWN

The 7th District Court of Appeals has upheld an order by a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge to reinstate a murder charge in a 2009 case.

In a decision announced this week, the court affirmed the October 2013 order by Judge Maureen Sweeney to reinstate a charge of murder against Paul Brown of Falls Avenue.

Brown is charged in the May 2009 killing of 17-year-old Ashten Jackson.

In September 2009, Judge Sweeney dismissed the murder charge against Brown after his attorney, Anthony Meranto, presented evidence he said showed that a cellphone Brown had when he was arrested was somehow tampered with and a voicemail message that would have established an alibi was missing.

About a month later, however, Judge Sweeney had a hearing after prosecutors appealed her ruling.

They presented evidence that the phone was not tampered with, and the consultant who was used to check the phone used a wrong number when he did his investigation.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.