Fifteen-year-old in custody for February murder

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

For the second time in just a few weeks, a young teen is a suspect in a violent Youngstown crime.

Damondtreas Hubbert, 15, was arraigned Monday in the Feb. 2 death of Clevael Workman. Mahoning County Juvenile Court Magistrate Carla Baldwin entered a plea of denial, or the adult equivalent of not guilty, for the teen at his arraignment. He will be back in court March 31.

A criminal complaint said that Hubbert, of Delaware Avenue, faces counts of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Both charges have firearms specifications attached.

He is being held without bond in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center.

Detective Sgt. Michael Lambert said he was able to track down Hubbert by checking Workman’s phone, which was found at the crime scene in the 700 block of Oxford Avenue.

Workman was found shot in the middle of the street about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 2.

After checking phone records, investigators also were able to get DNA from evidence at the crime scene and then got a warrant to compare that DNA with the suspect’s DNA, Lambert said.

“It all matched up,” Lambert said.

Lambert said investigators also received several tips that helped the investigation.

Lambert said Workman and Hubbert “knew each other from the streets” and that Workman’s death came from a botched robbery and that drugs were involved.

“It started out as a dope deal and led to a robbery that led to his death,” Lambert said.

This is the third serious crime within the last two months involving juveniles as suspects or victims.

On Feb. 14, the body of Savon Williams, 17, was found in a vacant lot off Wardle Avenue on the far East Side. He had been missing for several days before he was found, and he was shot several times. So far police have made no arrests in his case.

On March 4, Jhamiere Clarke, 14, turned himself in to police after a warrant was issued charging him with the attempted murder and aggravated robbery of Ellen Zban, 57, who was shot three times during a Feb. 6 robbery attempt in her driveway on Powersdale Avenue.

Clarke is in the juvenile justice center and a hearing will take place March 31 to determine if his case should be bound over to common pleas court.

Lambert was the lead investigator on that case as well.