Indictment: Man charged with Niles murder also had a gun

Staff report

WARREN

The indictment released Wednesday charging Edward D. Anderson Jr., 20, with murder and felonious assault adds a specification police did not mention earlier: Anderson also had a gun.

The charges say Anderson killed Michael L. Tsarnas, 41, of Reed Avenue in Campbell and wounded Melissa R. Stroud, 19, Saturday at the apartment Anderson and Stroud formerly shared on Warren Avenue in Niles.

Stroud, who has had Campbell and Niles addresses, was taken to the Trumbull Regional Medical Center, but her condition is not known.

The indictment alleges Anderson, who has had Campbell and Niles addresses, possessed a firearm while committing felonious assaults against Tsarnas and Stroud.

That specification can add years to any prison sentence for felonious assault.

Niles police said Anderson used a military-style knife in the attack but did not mention a firearm.

Anderson will be arraigned at 8:45 a.m. today in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before Judge Ronald Rice.

Police say Tsarnas had gone to the Warren Avenue address to help Stroud clean out and move out of the apartment.

Anderson arrived while Tsarnas and Stroud were there, a confrontation began and the stabbings ensued, police said. Tsarnas died at Trumbull Regional Medical Center. His death was ruled a homicide as a result of multiple stab wounds, the Trumbull County Coroner’s office said.

If convicted, Anderson could get a sentence of 15 years to life on the murder charge. The felonious assault charges could add about 10 more years.