Mistrial declared in gun case
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YOUNGSTOWN -- The defendant's presence during a jury view of a crime scene in the 3600 block of Southern Boulevard led to a Mahoning County judge declaring a mistrial Wednesday in a gun case.
Clarence Williams, 37, 633 Parkcliffe Ave., will be retried later this year on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and having a weapon as a felon, according to Common Pleas Judge Anthony D'Apolito.
Jury selection had been completed about 10:30 a.m. and jurors boarded a bus to view the Southern Boulevard area.
But according to both prosecuting attorney Jennifer Paris and defense attorney Lynn Maro, the defendant was spotted by some jurors at the scene. Both Parris and Maro asked the judge to declare a mistrial.
D'Apolito said it was the court's duty to keep the defendant away from the area during jury view -- and he personally takes responsibility for the error.
He said he thought about questioning jurors individually about what they saw, but thought better of it.
"You can't put the genie back into the bottle. The potential for a fair trial for all parties may have been tainted, and we can't take that chance," D'Apolito said. "It is not a situation I am happy about especially since we took some time in selecting a jury."
The process had begun Tuesday morning and continued until mid-morning Wednesday when 12 jurors and two alternates were selected.
Among those who were to testify were several Youngstown police officers.
The charges are in connection to an August 2020 fight involving three men in the 3600 block of Southern Boulevard.