Youngstown murder suspect getting a new lawyer

YOUNGSTOWN — One of three men accused of two separate murders on the East Side in November of 2011 will be getting a new attorney.

Mark Lavelle, attorney for 21-year-old Michael Austin of Midland Avenue, was granted a motion to withdraw as Austin’s counsel in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court today because of friction between himself, his client and his client’s mother.

Judge John Durkin said he will appoint a new attorney for Austin no later than Tuesday.

Austin is one of three men accused in the deaths of 23-year-old Adam Christian, who was shot and killed at 1477 Woodcrest Ave. on Nov. 13, 2011, and Raymond “Remel” Hayes, 20, who was found shot to death in a sparsely populated area of the East Side near Gerwig and Knapp avenues on Nov. 16, 2011.

Austin was indicted in the murders in March 2013 along with 32-year-old Dewaylyn Colvin of Nelson Avenue and Hakeem Henderson, 23, of Salem and San Diego. Their cases are still pending as well.