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YOUNGSTOWN -- Stevie A. Ballard, 23, who was acquitted of aggravated murder Aug. 24 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, was allowed to rescind his guilty plea in another case, which will be set for trial within a couple of months.
Judge Anthony Donofrio listened to arguments Wednesday on the issue. He said one factor he considered in allowing Ballard to rescind his guilty plea to burglary, felonious assault and more is Ballard was facing an aggravated murder trial at the time he pleaded guilty in the other case.
The judge said he remembers Ballard's demeanor during his guilty plea in the second case. "You saw it, Mr. Hume," the judge said to Marty Hume, assistant county prosecutor, after Hume argued Ballard should not be able to rescind the plea.
"I had to ask (Ballard) on a couple of different occasions, 'Are you sure?' Because I saw that he was experiencing apprehension, and he was experiencing angst, and he was very troubled about this, at least through his expressions," Donofrio said.
The judge added he "had some concerns about" whether Ballard was making the plea voluntarily. "Based on all of that and the fact that he was facing an aggravated murder trial at the time, I think he felt like he was compelled, pushed into it. That was my observation."
The judge said he felt as if "I have no choice" but to allow Ballard to rescind his guilty plea, so he did.
Ballard pleaded guilty June 1 to burglary, felonious assault with a gun specification and having weapons while not allowed. His plea agreement called for him to get eight to nine years in prison. Several other charges in Ballard's indictment were to be dismissed in the plea. But he later asked the judge to allow him to rescind the plea.
AGGRAVATED MURDER
Ballard of Campbell went on trial Aug. 22 on an aggravated murder charge in the Jan. 22, 2022, killing of Darrell N. Jackson, 20, also heard before Donofrio.
Jackson was found shot to death in a vehicle that drove onto the sidewalk at Market Street and East Philadelphia Avenue on the South Side. The vehicle had multiple bullet holes, and officers discovered Jackson in the driver's seat.
Ballard's indictment accused him of killing Jackson in a drive-by shooting. The aggravated murder charge and murder charge Ballard faced contained a five-year drive-by specification and a gun specification. The latter accused Ballard of possessing a firearm during the commission of the offense.
On Aug. 24, a jury deliberated about two hours before finding Ballard not guilty on all counts. One juror later told The Vindicator there were "holes" in the prosecution's case, and another juror said there "wasn't enough evidence to find (Ballard) guilty."
REMAINING CHARGES
After Ballard's acquittal, his attorney, Rhys Cartwright-Jones, also asked that bond be set for Ballard on his remaining charges, which dealt with offenses he and another man were accused of committing Nov. 18, 2021.
Ballard is accused of trespassing into a structure when someone was present and causing serious physical harm to two people.
His co-defendant, Trayshaun M. Hill, 21, of Austintown, pleaded guilty Nov. 2, 2022, to having weapons while not allowed, tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property and was sentenced Dec. 20, 2022, to 18 months in prison, where he remains.
Donofrio refused to establish bond for Ballard, saying the reason is that Ballard "absconded" once already in the case. The judge was referring to March 2022 when Ballard failed to appear for court, and the judge issued a warrant for Ballard's arrest.
Ballard came to court for the hearing but "left the courthouse prior to his hearing," according to court documents. The warrant was removed several days later.
erunyan@vindy.com