Hostage suspects have Tuesday hearings at Trumbull Courthouse

Staff report

WARREN

Two of the men identified as holding a corrections officer hostage at the Trumbull County jail April 23 had hearings at the county courthouse on Tuesday, though one of them didn’t make a physical appearance.

The hearing for David Martin, 29, related to two psychiatric evaluations conducted to determine whether Martin is competent to stand trial on a murder charge.

He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

Martin’s attorneys waived his physical appearance, as reports from both psychiatrists were not available, and a new hearing was set for June 10.

Martin remained in the Mahoning County jail.

Another of the men accused in the five-hour standoff, Richard Ware, 27, was brought to the courthouse from the Mahoning jail for his hearing.

He discussed his aggravated-robbery and felonious-assault case with his attorney, but there were no new developments.

Ware stood out in the courtroom because he was the only inmate wearing a red-and-white-striped Mahoning jail jumpsuit.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is handling the investigation into the hostage-taking, and no charges regarding it have been filed.

The third man accused in the hostage situation, Kevin Johns, 26, is in Lorain Correctional Institution, serving a 28-year prison sentence.