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Jurors deliberate in murder case
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Attorneys on both sides of the Jesse Williams aggravated murder trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court agree on one thing: Williams shot Diane Dent, 62, to death June 10, 2018, as she answered a knock on her front door.
Where they disagree is why Williams did so.
Assistant Prosecutor Rob Andrews told jurors before Judge Maureen Sweeney in his closing argument Wednesday that Williams planned to kill Dent at her Goleta Avenue residence because he was mad at her son, with whom he had fought the night before.
Jurors in the case began deliberating about 2:30 p.m. and left at 5 p.m. without reaching a verdict. They are expected to resume deliberations today.
Because he used premeditation, Andrews said Williams is guilty of aggravated murder, which carries a penalty of 25 years to life in prison.
Williams’ attorney, James Schoren, however, said Williams never planned the shooting and was coerced into it by a co-defendant, Rebecca Perez, 47, who played Williams off against Dent’s son.
Schoren said there was no prior calculation or design on his client’s part.
Williams did take the stand earlier in the day on his own behalf.
Earlier, Detective Sgt. Michael Lambert, the lead investigator, told jurors before Judge Maureen Sweeney that he used cellphone evidence to buttress witnesses who saw Dent shot to death.
Andrews also said that Perez, who testified, gave the same story that the two witnesses did, which speaks well for her credibility.
Two witnesses were able to memorize a license plate of a car that was used in the murder, Lambert said. One of those witnesses saw a man later identified as Williams shove Dent to the ground before shooting her twice with a revolver and fleeing in the car, which was driven by Perez.
Lambert said Dent was killed after Dent’s son was in a fight the night before at the apartment of Perez, who used to date Dent’s son. Dent’s son claimed he was bitten by Williams, and the wound later became infected. He was in the hospital getting that wound treated about the same time his mother’s lifeless body arrived via ambulance, Lambert said. Lambert said Dent had a pulse when paramedics arrived, but she died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Lambert said he got warrants for the phones of Williams and Perez and they showed they were in the area of Dent’s home at the time of the shooting.
Court records do not show if Perez ever took a plea in the case, but she is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 19.