YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Donofrio recently denied a motion to dismiss murder and other charges against Kenneth L. Carter, 35, and Terry Hopkins, 23, in the Jan. 24, 2025, killing of Resean Graham, 42, on Griselda Avenue on the South Side.

It sets the stage for Carter and Hopkins to go to trial today. Carter is accused of murder and a gun specification, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and cocaine possession. Hopkins is accused of one count of murder and a gun specification.

Last month, attorneys for Carter and Hopkins exchanged filings on whether the speedy trial time had expired for both defendants, with Carter and Hopkins saying that it had expired, and Mahoning County prosecutors saying it had not.

Ohio law requires a defendant in a felony case to be brought to trial within 270 days of arrest, though there are a variety of events that can stop the speedy trial clock.

Donofrio issued a judgment entry Dec. 30 stating that attorneys Dave Betras and Frank Cassese filed motions to dismiss, and Mahoning County Assistant prosecutors John Juhasz and Kyle Hilles argued the state’s position.

The entry states that Donofrio reviewed the filings, “timeline of events and the law” and found that there were sufficient events “occasioned by the defendant and by agreement of the parties” that allowed the speedy trial time clock to stop at various times. He overruled the motion and ordered that the trial proceed today.