Hamad motions aim to reduce chance of death penalty if convicted

WARREN

Several of the motions filed by attorneys for Nasser Hamad in his aggravated-murder case focus on reducing the chance that Hamad could get the death penalty if he’s convicted of killing two people at his Howland home in February.

Hamad, 48, of state Route 46, is charged with aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of two people and attempted aggravated murder in the wounding of three others who police say went to his house Feb. 25.

Police say Hamad shot all five after a day of Facebook taunts among Hamad and some of the victims, which caused the five to drive to his house for a fistfight.

After a fistfight between Hamad and one of the five, Hamad went into his house, got a gun, returned to the front yard and fired at the five, police said.

A recent motion by his attorneys asks that Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court order prosecutors to turn over any evidence they possess that is favorable to Hamad’s defense, especially that which “tends to mitigate the penalty or extenuate the circumstances of the crime.”

The filing adds that an example is “any evidence that Hamad had been threatened previously by the victims in prior incidents or that police located evidence suggesting that people on the scene carried weapons or instruments that could be used or construed as weapons.”

A separate filing asks for police reports prior to Feb. 25 that mention threats to Hamad by the victims.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.