YOUNGSTOWN — Two separate pretrials in the Mahoning County Common Pleas courtroom of Judge John M. Durkin must undergo provisions before moving forward.

A status conference has been scheduled for 11:30 a.m. April 16 in the capital murder case of JaBrae Perry, who is charged in the Aug. 24, 2021, murders of Ayanna Mills, 49, and her son, Brandon Bell, 28, at a home on Salt Springs Road on the West Side.

As Perry’s serious mental illness evaluation has delayed the trial, Durkin set the date in order to rule on Dr. Robert Stinson’s findings.

Charged with aggravated murder and murder with a gun specification, Perry already had been evaluated and was found to be competent to stand trial, meaning he is capable of understanding the nature and objective of the proceedings against him and assisting in his defense.

Durkin ordered the most recent evaluation during a hearing in February 2023. The evaluation is being done under a provision of Ohio law that went into effect in April 2021 that eliminates the death penalty for someone deemed to have serious mental illness at the time of their alleged offenses.

The person must prove that the illness “significantly impaired the person’s capacity to exercise rational judgment” regarding “conformity to the law or appreciating the nature, consequences, or wrongfulness of the person’s conduct,” according to a filing from Perry’s attorneys, Lou DeFabio and J.P. Laczko

“In order to complete the evaluation, Dr. Stinson has requested numerous records over time,” Durkin said Tuesday. “This court has placed orders to obtain all of the records, and I believe that the defense team and Dr. Stinson have now received all records necessary for Dr. Stinson to complete his report that was ordered back on March 14, 2023.”

DeFabio and Laczko confirmed with Durkin that all records have been shared with Stinson, who is on vacation until at least April.

Durkin then continued, “I know that I am frustrated, counsel is frustrated, both the State of Ohio and defense, as it relates to getting a report back so that we at least know how to proceed for Mr. Perry’s sake.”

Without the report, “we can do nothing,” Durkin added.

DONALD DUDLEY

A plea agreement was reached Tuesday with Donald C. Dudley on a second-degree felony charge of sexual battery. Originally charged with five counts of rape and six counts of gross sexual imposition, Dudley will now undergo a pre-sentencing investigation.

Dudley pleaded guilty to the amended charge, and all other counts of the indictment were dismissed. The recommended sentence from the state was eight years in prison and a tier-three sex offender registration requirement.

Durkin provided that upon Dudley’s release from prison, he would be placed under mandatory supervision, or probation, for five years. Dudley is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. May 11.

The victim’s mother is in agreement with the amended indictment, according to prosecuting attorney Caitlyn Andrews. Two of the rape charges could have produced a life sentence.

Dudley was secretly indicted Aug. 10 by a Mahoning County grand jury.

The victim was a child, and the offenses took place between September 2017 and September 2020, according to the indictment.

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