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Electricity theft murder trial begins
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Testimony began Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a man accused of aggravated murder in the death of another man during an argument over stolen electricity.
Jurors were seated Wednesday before Judge Maureen Sweeney to hear the case against 22-year-old Michael Paige, who is accused of killing 31-year-old Munir Blake during an argument at an apartment building in the 200 block of Lora Avenue on the North Side on March 1, 2012.
Monday, a co-defendant, Jasmine Fletcher, 23, pleaded guilty to charges of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence. Police said her electricity was turned off, and she was stealing electricity from Blake. When Blake confronted her about the theft, he was shot, police said.
Blake’s wife, Hope, testified that her husband had graduated from a motorcycle repair school in Orlando, Fla., a couple of months before he was killed and had a job interview two days before his death. He was set to go on a second interview for that job as well, she testified.
She said the couple also had a baby in January 2012. She said her husband was known as a good person who liked to help other people out.
“He made us late several times because he would stop on the side of the road to help a stranger,” she testified. “He was everybody’s best friend.”
Michael Bodnar, the first police officer on the scene, testified that when he got inside the building, he saw Blake lying on the floor and a neighbor was trying to treat his wounds and had a towel. He learned from the neighbor that Blake had been shot and that the person who had shot him may have been upstairs, Bodnar testified.
The man who was tending to Blake told Bodnar Blake did not have a pulse. Bodnar drew his weapon and advanced a couple of steps up the stairs but stopped to wait for backup because his view was obstructed. Later, the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team checked the building but found no one inside.
There were several shell casings on the floor around the area where Blake was lying, Bodnar testified.
Prosecutors recommended a sentence of three years for Fletcher, contingent on her testifying truthfully at Paige’s trial. It is not known yet, however, if she will be called as a witness.