No new hearing in the 1997 murder of a Youngstown bar owner

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a request to reopen legal proceedings in the 1997 murder of a Youngstown bar owner.

The decision Wednesday came without comment, other than a note among the court’s daily announcements that Scott Group’s application for reopening had been denied.

Group was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 56-year-old Robert Lozier, 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.

Group filed an application to reopen the case last year, 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.”

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

No execution date has been sought or set yet for Group.