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Upcoming Trumbull murder trial producing added security measures
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The Nasser Hamad aggravated-murder trial set to begin next Wednesday is prompting extra security measures at the Trumbull County Courthouse.
Hamad is charged in the deaths of two young men and wounding of three other people who came to his house on state Route 46 in Howland on Feb. 25 in a monthslong feud. If convicted, Hamad, 48, could get the death penalty.
A memo from judges Andrew Logan and Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court says court employees should expect that it will take additional time to get through courthouse security.
It says the measures are an effort to ensure “the safety of our workplace.”
All employees will be required to wear their identification badges and display them prominently while in the courthouse, pass through the security checkpoint the same as any visitor, place their bags and purses in the X-ray machine and place their loose items in bins before passing through the X-ray machine.
Other beefed-up security measures also are being followed, and employees are being encouraged to refrain from talking about the Hamad case in the courthouse so that potential jurors are not exposed even to “casual conversations” regarding the case.
The additional security measures began Monday because of another high-profile case that was scheduled to start that day, the murder trials of David Bailes Jr. and Charles Dellapenna, charged with aggravated murder and felonious assault in the deaths of two rival motorcycle club members and wounding of two others in 2016.
That trial was canceled late last week because of the unavailability of a witness.
But testimony of witness Dayton Lough was given Tuesday in court, and was-tape recorded for use during the Dec. 11 trial in the event that Lough doesn’t willingly come to court to testify in person.
That hearing triggered a much-enhanced set of security measures – about a dozen deputies and supervisors in and around the courthouse and limits on the movement of spectators and reporters before the hearing.
In the Hamad case, Judge Rice earlier issued an order banning protests, demonstrations, signs, banners or clothing bearing messages in a “secured” area of the courthouse during the trial and prohibiting people from congregating in hallways.
Spectators must not try to communicate with Hamad or any juror in the secured area during the trial, the order adds. Talking to a juror could be a criminal offense, the order says.
Cellphones and recording devices are banned in the courtroom except where specifically allowed by the court.
The secured area is along High Street in front of the main entrance to the courthouse, as well as a 50-foot perimeter around the courthouse on all sides.
All spectators must stay seated once entering the courtroom and not enter or leave except during breaks announced by the judge. Talking is prohibited during the trial, and no audible or physical expressions of approval or disapproval regarding the trial proceedings are allowed.