Bristolville man charged with murder asks court for expert witness and separate trials

WARREN — A Bristolville man accused in the shooting death of a city man in a rural area of Bristol Township June 15 and committing a Cortland pizza shop robbery June 21 is asking the court to pay for an expert witness.

Austin T. Burke, 19, of Miller South Road has asked Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court allow Burke to hire expert witness Cherry Biometrics for up to $8,500 to advise Burke regarding cellphone historical data.

Burke’s family hired Bradley Olson Jr. as Burke’s lawyer, but Burke and his family cannot afford an expert witness, the filing says.

Burke is charged in the June 12 aggravated murder and aggravated robbery of Brandon Sample, 22, of Garfield Drive Northeast.

He is also charged with aggravated robbery and other crimes in the June 21 armed robbery of the Pizza Joe’s Restaurant on West Main Street in Cortland.

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