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Murder suspect arraigned; woman accused of kicking paramedic
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A suspect in a shooting late Friday that resulted in the death of a man a few hours later was arraigned Monday in municipal court.
Bernard Barnes, 57, is in the Mahoning County jail on $1 million bond after he was arraigned on a charge of murder before Judge Robert Milich.
Barnes is accused of killing Kenneth Evans, 57, who died about 3 a.m. Saturday after being shot in the stomach about 10 p.m. Friday in the 1900 block of Manhattan Avenue.
Police said the pair were arguing over a woman.
Detectives were able to link Barnes to the crime quickly after talking to witnesses. He was arrested a few hours later without incident at a home on West LaClede Avenue.
Assistant Prosecutor Kathy Thompson said Barnes has no criminal record other than a past felony breaking and entering, possession of criminal tools and unauthorized removal. He has a preliminary hearing set for May 16, unless the case is presented to the Mahoning County grand jury before then.
Also, a Willow Street woman was arraigned on a charge of assault after she was arrested early Sunday after she was found drunk on a porch and kicked a paramedic in the head several times.
Reports said police were called about 8:40 a.m. to a home in the 300 block of North Truesdale Avenue for a report of a woman on a porch and when they arrived they found V’Aira Janelle Vaughn-Lewis, 21, down on the porch experiencing what police described as “dry heaves.”
Reports said her speech was slurred and she smelled heavily of alcohol.
Vaughn-Lewis told police she came to visit a man in the home with whom she has a “side relationship,” but he would not let her inside, reports said. Reports said officers asked the woman if someone could give her a ride home because she appeared to be very drunk and Vaughn-Lewis told them she wanted the man in the house to give her a ride home.
However, the man in the house told police that “rides home” are not part of the “benefits” of a side relationship and he refused to give Vaughn-Lewis a ride home, reports said.
Because of her condition and also because Vaughn-Lewis refused to tell police who could take her home, an ambulance was called for her, reports said.
Reports said she became irate when police took her cellphone and she kicked a paramedic in the head and face several times before she could be restrained.
She was examined at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital before she was transferred to the Mahoning County jail, reports said. Judge Milich set her bond at $3,000. She has no prior criminal record, Thompson said.
In another case, arraigned on two charges of aggravated menacing and a count of discharging a firearm within city limits was Justin Mendenhall, 21, of Greeley Lane, who was arrested about 7:55 p.m. Friday after a fight at his home.
Reports said several men drove to Mendenhall’s home after he argued with the mother of his child who came to pick the child up.
Reports said one of the men punched Mendenhall, who went inside, grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle and used it to hit one of the men in the head before firing two rounds in the air.
When police arrived, an ambulance was called to treat Mendenhall for his injuries but police could not find the gun.
The man police said was hit by the rifle, Antonio Garcia, 39, of Jefferson Court, was cited for criminal trespass because he ignored requests to leave the property, reports said.
Judge Milich set bond for Mendenhall at $30,000.