Judge says motion asking him to disqualify himself from Howland murder case is ‘inflammatory’

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

The judge in the Nasser Hamad aggravated-murder case has rejected most of the motions filed by Hamad’s attorney, including one asking the judge to disqualify himself and the prosecutor’s office from the case, calling the idea “meritless, frivolous and inflammatory.”

Atty. Geoffrey Oglesby had asked Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to remove himself and the county prosecutor’s office, saying their roles in handling the criminal complaint filed against Hamad puts them in conflict with their duties now.

“The proceedings were conducted in accordance [with the] criminal rules and were not improper,” Judge Rice ruled.

Police said five people went to Hamad’s house on state Route 46 in Howland on Feb. 25 as part of an ongoing dispute, leading to a fistfight between Hamad and John Shively, 17. After the fight, Hamad went into the house, got a gun and fired about 18 shots at the five people after they returned to their van near the street, authorities said.

Two were killed, and the three others, including Shively, were injured. Hamad is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and several counts of attempted aggravated murder. He could get the death penalty if convicted.

Judge Rice also ruled against a motion asking that prosecutors, deputies, corrections officers and others be restrained from talking to Hamad, 47. Oglesby said the reason for this was to prevent officials from trying to obtain incriminating statements from Hamad, but the judge ruled the motion “has no basis in law.”

The judge also ruled against a motion asking that charges against Hamad be dismissed because of “selective prosecution.” Oglesby said prosecutors “turned a blind eye” to the crimes committed by the shooting victims, which he called “hate crimes.”

The judge said Oglesby “failed to demonstrate any evidence whatsoever to support his contention that the state has engaged in a discriminatory prosecution based on any unjustifiable standard.”

The judge also rejected a motion to have a special prosecutor appointed and to empanel a grand jury to prosecute the three people who survived the shootings.

Prosecutors had just filed responses to some of the motions Friday, the same day the judge ruled on eight of nine motions Oglesby filed.

In one such filing, prosecutors said Hamad’s repeated attempt to place blame on the five for the killings misses the point that the five didn’t know when they went to Hamad’s house that they would encounter gunfire.

“In fact, just the opposite, [Hamad] repeatedly challenged the victims to come to his home to engage in a fight,” prosecutors said.

“[Hamad] told them he didn’t need a gun. And, in fact, the only person who brought a gun into this case remains [Hamad] after the fistfight had ended. Not one of the victims had a firearm,” prosecutors said.

Judge Rice has issued a gag order in the case, preventing the parties from discussing the facts outside of the filings and hearings.

But it’s unclear who created an internet site that raises money for Hamad’s defense and provides commentary on the case, including what the site’s creators say are “screen shots” of comments posted on Facebook by at least one of the three survivors prior to the shootings.

The page also shows photos of young men holding guns and knives and gives a version of events about the fight different from what police have said.