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Murder suspect asks for bond to be modified
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Prosecutors are opposing the request for a bond reduction for a man awaiting trial in a 2017 homicide.
Prosecutors say the facts and nature of the crime merit that Louis Littlejohn, 62, should continue to be kept in the Mahoning County jail on a $1 million bond.
Littlejohn’s attorney, Tom Zena, however, said his client’s bond should be reduced because he has no criminal record, worked for the state Department of Corrections and has family in the community that would keep him here.
Littlejohn is accused of the Sept. 17, 2017, shooting death of Charles Pargo, 27, at a home on Belden Avenue on the South Side. Littlejohn was called there because his daughter was fighting with Pargo, who was the father of their 3-week-old grandson.
Officers were called to the home for a custody dispute about 10:30 p.m., and police said the dispute appeared to be resolved when they were about to leave. That’s when they say Littlejohn ran into the home and they heard several shots, then Littlejohn ran outside, threw a revolver on the ground and surrendered.
Police went inside and found Pargo dead on a flight of steps, still holding his baby, who was uninjured.
Police arrested Littlejohn that night. When he was arraigned two days later in municipal court, former Judge Elizabeth Kobly set his bond at $1 million. He has a Jan. 30 pretrial hearing in the case in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Judge Anthony D’Apolito.
Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa said the high bond is warranted because if convicted of aggravated murder, Littlejohn faces a possible life sentence.
Cantalamessa also wrote Littlejohn told police he bought the gun that was used in the shooting on the street and had it for five months. She added the state has a strong case because Littlejohn committed the crime with several city police officers present. The gun used was tested and is the murder weapon, Cantalamessa wrote.