Defendant may be watching trial from another courtroom

By Peter H. Milliken

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Jury selection was to resume at 9 a.m. today in the trial of Nathaniel Dumas, accused of being the getaway driver in the April 2011 attempted robbery at Galaxy Seafood on Belmont Avenue that resulted in a deadly police shooting.

Dumas, however, may be watching his trial via closed-circuit TV from another courtroom.

Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, in a judgment entry, said Dumas could potentially “display disruptive behavior.”

Dumas, 35, of East Florida Avenue, is on trial on an aggravated robbery charge before Judge Evans. The judge mentioned the video hookup in his judgment entry, in which he said Dumas expressed his dissatisfaction with the jury panel and “continually insisted in a manner indicating potential disruption that he ‘would not go to trial with this jury.’”

Judge Evans denied Dumas’ request to replace Mark Carfolo as his defense lawyer, saying Carfolo “has represented the defendant in a very professional fashion without exception.”

Dumas also accused the judge and prosecutor of bias and prejudice

In the same judgment entry, Judge Evans granted a request by Rebecca Doherty, an assistant county prosecutor, to dismiss an aggravated murder charge against Dumas.

The aggravated murder charge stemmed from a police officer fatally shooting the alleged armed robber, Warren V. Wright, 32, of Youngstown, after Wright allegedly pointed a gun at a store worker and demanded money. Officer Mike Walker shot Wright while working security at the business.

Dumas was originally charged with aggravated murder because he is alleged to have been an accomplice of Wright in the attempted robbery that resulted in Wright’s death.

Dumas’ co-defendant, James Thomas, 50, of Belmont Avenue, has pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with a firearm specification, and prosecutors have recommended that he receive a low-end prison term of six years if he testifies against Dumas.

Police haven’t specified Thomas’ role in the crime.