Man indicted in murder; home invasion suspects indicted

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A Mahoning County grand jury Thursday indicted an Outlook Avenue man accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death in Youngstown then driving to Niagara Falls, N.Y., with her body.

Jeshawn Elliott, 37, is accused in the homicide of Anvia Mickens, 28, who was found in the trunk of Elliott’s car Aug. 9 in Niagara Falls.

Police say Mickens was killed in Youngstown and Elliott was tracked down after he was speaking to relatives on the phone, who in turn called police.

He spent several months in jail in New York before being extradited back to Youngstown in December. He is in the Mahoning County jail.

Also, the grand jury indicted four people who police said were involved in a home invasion last week in Austintown.

Indicted were Michael Doepker, 24, of North Kimberly Avenue, and Noah Matheny, 21, of New Road, both of Austintown; and Mark A. Hernandez, 21, of Cambridge Avenue, and Luis Claudio, 21, of Chicago Avenue, both of Youngstown.

They all face charges of aggravated burglary, kidnapping, aggravated robbery with firearm and body-armor specifications, being a felon in possession of a firearm and impersonating a peace officer or private police officer.

The four are accused of breaking into a home on Beverly Avenue in the early hours of Feb. 9 and holding the residents at gunpoint. Reports said at first they claimed to be police officers. They had body armor and assault weapons.

Doepker, Matheny and Hernandez were all arrested a short time later not far from the home. Claudio remains at large.