Niles man indicted on aggravated murder charge

Staff report

WARREN

A Trumbull County grand jury indicted Michael B. Settle on aggravated murder and five other charges in an April 7 home invasion that turned deadly.

If convicted on the aggravated murder, Settle, 26, of Sherman Avenue in Niles, could get life in prison with no parole. The grand jury handed up the indictment Wednesday.

Settle also was indicted on charges of aggravated burglary, felonious assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence. If convicted on each, an additional 40 years could be added to Settle’s sentence.

He’s accused of shooting to death James R. Levels, 64, of Warren, and shooting Lisa Prater, 48, in Prater’s home in the 900 block of South Street Southeast. Prater, who survived, said two men were involved.

Also indicted was Timothy W. Clay, 42, with addresses on Higley Avenue in Niles and Ford Street in Warren, on three counts of felonious assault in an April 27 assault on three people with a baseball bat in Suburban Trailer Park on 10th Street in McKinley Heights.

One of the victims, a 26-year-old woman, said Clay hit her in the head with the bat.

She and a 51-year-old woman were treated at a local hospital for their injuries. If convicted, Clay could get 24 years in prison.

The grand jury also indicted Reed A. Mitchell, 21, of Wilshire Road in Cortland on charges of aggravated robbery, robbery and trespassing.

The robbery charge stems from a Jan. 20, 2014, incident on Starlite Drive Northwest. A 38-year-old man who lived with Mitchell said Mitchell and another man beat him after he refused to give them money.

He said they also took his cellphone. If convicted, Mitchell could get about 20 years in prison.