Youngstown killer wants his case reconsidered

By Marc Kovac | June 5, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBUS

A man sentenced to death for the 1997 murder of a Youngstown bar owner has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider his case.

Scott Group filed the application for reopening this week, alleging his legal counsel did not effectively represent his appeals or challenge issues from his original trial.

“I had no rapport or communication with either of my appellate attorneys,” Group said in an affidavit filed with the court. “I never spoke with [the attorney representing him on appeal]. ... I never spoke directly with any of them. They never came to see me, and I could only communicate with them by mail.”

Group, 50, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the murder of Robert Lozier, 56, owner of the Downtown Bar in Youngstown. According to documents, Group, a deliveryman for a wine company, forced Lozier and his wife into a restroom and shot them both in the head before stealing more than $1,200. Sandra Lozier survived the attack and testified against Group at trial. Lozier’s blood was found on Group’s shoe when he was arrested.

The application for reopening is a standard part of the appeals process for death-penalty cases, though Group was supposed to submit the request more than a decade ago.

In his new filing with the Ohio Supreme Court, Group alleges his legal counsel did not adequately represent him during the appeals process, neglecting to raise errors made during his trial, including “trial counsel’s failure to develop testimony about an alternate suspect.”

Group added in his affidavit, “I wrote numerous letters asking my attorneys to call or visit me, but they never did. My family was constantly calling the attorney’s offices and being ignored. I felt that it was very important for me to have input into my own appeal, but my attorneys apparently didn’t think so.”

No execution date has been sought or set for Group. His appeals process likely will take several years to complete.