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WARREN -- The girlfriend of 28-year-old Adam Spaid, who was killed during an attempted robbery of their ho Feb. 5, testified Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Gabrielle McCullough told the jury she and Spaid were asleep in their upstairs bedroom at a residence in the 2100 block of Milton Street SE when the couple's security camera alerted them of someone being at the door. The couple observed a white man holding an orange Grub Hub delivery bag but believed him to be at the wrong address.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker said they believe that man to be Christian Chaney, 17, of Struthers, who was arrested in connection with the robbery turned deadly shooting 12 days later. After several failed attempts at the door, the man left.
The prosecution argues that Chaney, along with four other individuals -- including the man on trial Monday, Ronieque Requel, 26, of Youngstown -- came to the home in three separate vehicles prepared to carry out a robbery.
McCullough said she and Spaid fell back to sleep, but later the pair heard a loud bang, which the prosecution said is when several men kicked down the door and entered the home.
GIRLFRIEND TESTIFIES
McCullough attempted to keep her composure on the witness stand as she gave her testimony through tears. As she sat on the witness stand, the prosecution played a disturbing 911 call from the night of the deadly shooting.
McCullough said she remained upstairs after Spaid grabbed his 9mm handgun to confront the men downstairs. As she speaks with dispatchers, she attempts to whisper as yelling could be heard from downstairs. At some point while she was talking to dispatchers, the sound of a gunshot could be heard.
The sound of a man yelling, "Where's the money?" toward McCullough could be heard. She responds, "I don't know where it is," according to the 911 recording.
Toward the end of the call, the man could be heard saying, "I'm about to kill this (expletive)" twice.
After the call, McCullough testified she went downstairs, where she encountered a man dressed in a red hoodie with a satchel and ski mask holding a "long rifle" that she later testified belonged to her boyfriend, Spaid.
She said the gun was usually kept in the downstairs of the home.
The prosecution said the man in red was Requel. The gun being carried by the man was later found by police in an upstairs bedroom, where Requel climbed out of a window to escape the home, according to testimony.
McCullough said she found Spaid in the kitchen alive, but suffering from several gunshot wounds. A coroner's report states that Spaid was struck at least 10 times by gunfire.
She told the jury she stayed with him until police arrived. Later, she turned over footage from the home security camera, which was used during the trial.
OFFICER ON STAND
Prior to her testimony, the jury heard from Warren City police officer Mathew Smith, whose body camera footage depicts the moments police encountered the man in red, later found to be Requel, as he attempted to leave the home out of second-story bedroom window and onto the front roof of the Milton Street home.
By this point, the four other men that had entered the home already left. The prosecution said two left through the back door, while the other two, one of which is believed to be Chaney, left out the front and it was captured on video surveillance.
During Smith's testimony, that body camera footage was played. Over the radio, a voice states "someone was shot" moments before a female officer shouts, "He's on the roof!"
The man on the roof, who later identified himself as Requel, told officers repeatedly that he did not have a gun and told officers several times that "They were trying to kill us."
Smith testified that he entered the home to secure the upstairs and check for any other casualties. There, he entered the bedroom where Requel climbed out onto the roof and pulled him inside. Upon searching Requel, officers found him in possession of a handgun that was hidden in his hoodie pocket in addition to a second 9mm magazine.
That firearm, the prosecution said during opening statements, was used during the home invasion and was stolen from a woman in Poland, who the prosecution plans to call to the witness stand. The prosecution also told jurors that two ballistics experts will testify that the bullets from the gun recovered from Requel's pocket had fired two bullets recovered from Spaid's body.
As police escorted Requel from the home in handcuffs, he claimed he was at the home to see a woman, which the prosecution said was a lie.
NO ONE ELSE HOME
During her testimony, McCollough said she and Spaid were the only ones in the home and were not expecting company that night. The police investigation backs her testimony that they were the only ones there before the group broke in.
Becker honed in on this alleged lie from Requel, questioning why the defendant parked a black Chevrolet Tahoe -- for which he had a key fob -- three blocks away from the home at the intersection of Milton Street and Willard Avenue SE if he was there to meet someone in the 2100 block of Milton Street.
A search of the vehicle turned up an unfired FC brand 9mm bullet on the driver's side seat. Requel was not allowed to be in possession of a firearm because of a previous conviction for burglary.
Becker argued that before the four men decided to break down the front door of the home, Requel could be seen on one of the home's several security cameras directing the men from the sidelines before rushing in after them.
Court documents show that before the trial began Monday, Requel had several motions overruled, including one to dismiss his legal counsel and another to exclude video footage from being shown in court.
The trial will resume this afternoon.