HAMAD TRIAL | Jurors deliberating Hamad's fate
2:48 p.m.
WARREN — Jurors in the Nasser Hamad aggravated-murder trial are deliberating his guilt or innocence on two counts of aggravated murder and five counts of attempted aggravated murder.
Judge Ronald Rice spent about 90 minutes hours explaining how Ohio law defines the various charges alleged against Hamad, 48.
The aggravated-murder charges pertain to the deaths of Josh Williams, 20, and Josh Haber, 19. The judge explained a variety of terms and phrases in the law related to aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder, such as prior calculation and design. That phrase relates to whether Hamad caused the death of Williams and or Haber on purpose, rather than on the "spur of the moment."
Another key phrase is self-defense, which Hamad and his attorneys believe explains what happened Feb. 25 when Hamad is accused of killing Williams and Haber and injuring three other people at his home on state Route 46 in Howland.
Self-defense includes a requirement the person who did the killing did not violate his or her duty to retreat from the killing and was in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
The judge also explained the jurors can step down to a charge of murder if they find that Hamad is not guilty of aggravated murder.
Regarding the attempted aggravated murder charge, prosecutors say Hamad tried once to cause the death of April Trent-Vokes, 42, and tried twice to cause the deaths of Bryce Hendrickson, 19, and John Shively, 19, who were all injured but survived.
Prosecutors say Hamad fired at the five that day until his bullets ran out, then he went back in his house, reloaded his gun and continued to fire.
Jurors can step down to attempted murder on those five charges if prosecutors have not proven Hamad committed attempted aggravated murder, the judge said.
If jurors find Hamad guilty of certain charges, they will return later this week to hear additional testimony to determine whether Hamad deserves the death penalty.
If jurors don't reach a verdict today, they will be taken to a local hotel to be sequestered over night and continue deliberations Tuesday.
12:22 p.m.
WARREN — Closing arguments have ended in the Nasser Hamad aggravated-murder trial with Mike Burnett, assistant prosecutor, having the last word.
The jurors will return after lunch to hear jury instructions and begin to deliberate the guilt or innocence of Hamad, 48, on two counts of aggravated murder and five counts of attempted aggravated murder.
Defense attorney Robert Dixon spoke before Burnett, describing Hamad as a "family man," a businessman, a "hardworking man driving a backhoe."
Dixon emphasized that Hamad's actions in shooting five people who came to his house for a fight Feb. 25 at Hamad's house on state Route 46 in Howland had to be evaluated based on what was "reasonable" in Hamad's mind.
Dixon gave reasons why he felt it was reasonable for Hamad to fear he would be killed after a fight in Hamad's front yard and the five had returned to their vehicle.
"He has a right to expect peace on his property," Dixon said. "Every one of us has a right to expect that."
10:52 a.m.
WARREN — Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, emphasized during closing arguments this morning that the actions of Nasser Hamad Feb. 25 were not the actions of a person fearing for his life.
Becker also said the actions of the five people in the van he fired into that day in front of his house on state Route 46 in Howland were not the actions of people who had a gun.
Hamad, 48, on trial on two counts of aggravated murder and five counts of attempted aggravated murder, could get the death penalty if convicted of certain of the charges.
Becker told jurors Hamad testified that he fired at the five because he feared for his life, but Josh Haber, 19, one of the two males who died that day, was standing not far from Hamad asking Hamad why he shot his mom. But Haber gestured with his hands held out, showing he had no gun, so why did Hamad fire at him, Becker asked.
"He executed Josh Haber," Becker said.
After Hamad fired some shots into the van, hitting several people, Hamad returned to his house to reload his gun, then returned, Becker noted.
Hamad claimed he feared there was a gun in the van but none of the five ever fired at him, Becker said.
"If you had a gun in that van, you would have been shooting back," Becker said.
Defense attorney David Doughten spoke after Becker had finished, said jurors will be instructed that they have to view Hamad's concerns from Hamad's point of view. He said prosecutors' attempts to show that Hamad planned the shootings are wrong.
If he had anticipated them coming to his house, he would have had his gun with him, Doughten said.
After closing arguments, Judge Ronald Rice of common pleas court will then give jury instructions to the six men and six women on the panel.
The instructions will be important because Hamad has claimed that he acted in self defense, and the jurors will learn how Ohio law defines self-defense.
9:18 a.m.
WARREN — An attorney for the prosecution has started to give closing arguments in the aggravated murder trial of Nasser Hamad. A defense attorney will go next.
Afterward, Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court will then give jury instructions to the six men and six women on the panel.
The instructions will be important because Hamad has claimed he acted in self-defense, and the jurors will learn how Ohio law defines self-defense.
The jurors and four alternates heard five days worth of testimony last week about the Feb. 25 fight at Hamad’s house on state Route 46 in Howland. They heard how Hamad, 48, entered his home, got a gun and fired about 18 shots into a van near the end of Hamad’s driveway, killing two young men and injuring the three other people.
In opening statements last Monday, Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, said Hamad, through Facebook posts, “challenged and lured these victims over for a fight and told them they didn’t need guns for it, despite the fact that [Hamad] had a loaded 9 millimeter and another loaded magazine ready to go.”
One of Hamad’s defense attorneys, conversely, talked about the beating he says Hamad took from the four males in the group before the gunfire began. He talked about the harassment Hamad says he took from his girlfriend’s family in the months before Feb. 25, and that Hamad feared for his safety because of one of the other males had a knife.