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Pair found guilty on some charges in house shooting
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Jurors in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court delivered partial verdicts against a man and a woman charged with shooting up a South Side house after a dispute over a car repair.
Tiant Bright, 38, was convicted Friday of a count of felonious assault with a three-year gun specification and improper discharge of a firearm into a habitation with gun specifications of three and five years. He was found not guilty of another charge of felonious assault.
Summer Romeo, 36, was found not guilty of two counts of felonious assault but guilty of a charge of discharging a firearm into a habitation with both three- and five-year gun specifications.
A sentencing date has not been set.
Romeo and Bright had their bonds revoked and were placed in the county jail.
The two had been on trial since Tuesday in a shooting of a home at 220 Pasadena Ave. on Dec. 5, 2012. Police said the shooting stemmed from an argument Romeo had at the home after someone fixed her vehicle but broke the dipstick used to check the oil and that Romeo had threatened the people in the home.
Police were called to the home for three shootings that night. No one was injured.
As the verdicts were read, Romeo had her face in her hands and was sobbing while Bright appeared to be in shock.
After the jury was excused, Romeo said through tears, “I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do,” and when a deputy went to handcuff her, a family member rushed toward her.
Another deputy grabbed her and took her out of the courtroom.
Defense attorneys Jeff Limbian and Ed Hartwig asked Visiting Judge H. F. Inderlied, who heard the case, if he would grant motions for acquittal for both clients based on a lack of evidence, but Judge Inderlied declined and overruled their motions.
Jurors heard closing arguments in the case Thursday and returned their verdicts about 1:30 p.m. Friday.