Attorneys and aggravated murder defendants Cmone Thomas, at left in orange, and her brother Marquez Thomas, center, listen to Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court at a Monday hearing. At far left is attorney Lynn Maro, and at right are attorneys Tony Meranto and Fred Rafidi.

YOUNGSTOWN — A trial scheduled to begin Monday in the Dec. 30, 2021, killing of Joseph Addison, 42, and injuring of three other people at a Tyrell Street apartment on the West Side is postponed until March 4.

Defendants Marquez Thomas, 26, and his sister, C’Mone Thomas, 23, have been charged with aggravated murder, murder and multiple counts of felonious assault in the courtroom of Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The trial was postponed in June after attorney Lynn Maro, who represents Marquez Thomas, complained of late evidence being provided to the defense by Mahoning County prosecutors.

Durkin postponed the trial because of the issue but has not ruled on Maro’s request for sanctions against the prosecutor’s office. Maro in January announced her candidacy for Mahoning County prosecutor in next year’s election.

On Monday, the judge said he was postponing the trial again because during a final pretrial last week, prosecutors made the defense aware of a map of cellphone locations that would be used at the trial.

The judge said the map shows where cellphones of individuals involved in the case were located at various times in relation to the killing and shootings.

The defense requested the opportunity to hire an expert witness to testify regarding the evidence. The prosecution argued that the map itself was not significant enough to warrant the hiring of an expert witness because the defense had been provided with the cellphone data showing the times and locations earlier.

A detective with the Youngstown Police Department is going to testify to how the data was collected and the technology involved in the evidence, the judge said.

The courts have ruled various ways on whether an expert witness is needed, but the judge found that the defense should be allowed to hire an expert to “interpret the records, and as a result this court asked the state of Ohio whether or not this new map was necessary in the presentation of the case, and the state of Ohio said it was,” Judge Durkin said.

Maro has talked to someone to serve as expert witness, and they will testify at the trial, the judge said. The March trial date was selected because of the court’s schedule and the schedules of the defense attorneys, Durkin said.

During the hearing, Maro expressed her frustration that the trial was postponed the last time because of late evidence from the prosecutor’s office and yet prosecutors provided the new map last week.

But Rob Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, countered that the map is not new evidence. It is just “a mapping of the coordinates.” Creating the map did not require an expert, just “type it into Google Maps,” and “You could do it yourself, so I don’t necessarily believe it is new evidence.”

After a defense request, the judge said he would set a bond hearing in the case where the defense can argue for a lower bond for their clients, the prosecution can make their arguments and the family of the victims can be heard as required under Marsy’s law, the judge said.

The Thomases have been held in the Mahoning County jail since May 2022.

erunyan@vindy.com