Judge in Howland murder case OKs motion
Staff report
WARREN
The judge in the Nasser Hamad murder case has granted a motion that he rejected the first time, after Hamad’s new attorneys cited different case law to bolster their argument.
Atty. Robert Dixon of Cleveland sought to prevent inmates, deputies, corrections officers and other “agents of the state” from engaging Hamad in discussions about his pending aggravated-murder case.
Hamad, 47, of state Route 46 in Howland, is charged with killing two people and injuring three others who came to his house near Eastwood Mall on Feb. 25 in an ongoing dispute. He’s accused of shooting the five after a fistfight in his front yard between Hamad and one of the five.
If convicted of certain charges, Hamad could get the death penalty.
The judge said “the surest and clearest means to exercise one’s right to remain silent” is not to speak. But if he chooses to talk about the case, “he does so at his own peril.”
Nonetheless, it would be inappropriate for state- associated representatives to attempt to engage him in discussions about the case, Judge Rice said.
“This restriction applies to any so-called ‘jail-house snitches’ attempting to retrieve information solicited by or on behalf of the state or other law enforcement arm,” the judge said.