YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County prosecutors say that Saun M. Peterson, 23, did not testify at the trial of his co-defendant, Danyo Sellers, 19, last week the way Peterson promised he would.

Prosecutors expected Peterson to say Sellers had fired a gun over the top of the car Peterson, Sellers and two others were in April 15, 223, outside of Martha’s Boulevard Tavern and into a crowd of people at the same time 15-year-old Amya Monserrat was shot to death.

A new filing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court states that Peterson said in a sworn statement in 2023 he would testify that he saw people “waving guns” at the car Peterson was driving that night and it caused Peterson to begin to “drive aggressively.”

Peterson also said he would testify that Sellers was in the car, that Sellers “began shooting with his hand over the top of the roof” of the car and that Peterson could hear gunfire coming from the gun Sellers was holding. Amya and dozens of others were there attending a birthday party for a 16-year-old girl when the gunfire erupted, killing Amya.

During Sellers’ trial last week, prosecutors admitted they were not arguing that the shots Sellers fired were the ones that killed Amya. Others in the parking lot also were shooting guns, and it wasn’t possible to say who fired the fatal shot. But under the law, Sellers could be convicted of Amya’s death under the “felony murder” statute that allows for a murder conviction for someone whose actions gave rise to someone’s death.

Prosecutors argued that the actions of Peterson and Sellers — driving multiple times around the tavern and then Sellers firing at the crowd — prompted the gunfire that killed Amya, regardless of whether the shots Sellers fired killed the girl or not.

The new filing discussed what Peterson’s testimony was supposed to be because prosecutors believe Peterson’s failure to live up to the terms of his plea agreement should void the agreement. It would allow prosecutors to recommend a longer prison sentence for Peterson than they were recommending before his testimony.

A jury on Thursday returned not guilty verdicts against Sellers on all counts. Sellers, also known as Legend Pless, was released from the Mahoning County jail later Thursday a free man. Peterson is locked up in the Mahoning County jail.

VOID PLEA AGREEMENT

The filing states that Peterson not only failed to fulfill the requirements of his plea agreement regarding Sellers shooting into the crowd, but Peterson also committed perjury.

The filing argues that because of Peterson’s false and incomplete testimony, Peterson violated the plea agreement. Peterson pleaded guilty in 2023 to felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, obstructing justice and two drive-by gun specifications.

In exchange, Peterson had to testify truthfully against Sellers, and Peterson was going to get a recommendation from prosecutors for a 10 to 12 1/2 year prison sentence, the filing states.

The filing adds that “it is easy to see that the State of Ohio fully intended to carry through with the plea agreement, but (Peterson) by committing perjury and by refusing to answer questions when his agreement required him to do so breached the agreement.”

The filing asks that D’Apolito sign an order “vacating the plea and scheduling the matter for a trial on the original indictment.”

D’Apolito has not yet ruled on the request, which was filed Feb. 27. Peterson has a sentencing date of April 15, but that could change depending on how the new filing by prosecutors is resolved.

EARLIER CASE

The issue of a codefendant failing to meet the requirements of their plea agreement came up in an earlier major murder trial in Mahoning County. It was the trial of Brandon Crump Jr. in the 2020 murder of 4-year-old Rowan Sweeney. The boy was killed in a home in Struthers during what prosecutors said started as a robbery.

Crump was convicted of aggravated murder and other charges and was sentenced to a long prison sentence in the case. Co-defendant Kimonie Bryant agreed to testify against Crump at Crump’s trial.

But that plan fell through when prosecutors learned that Bryant was not truthful in some details he told prosecutors when he reached his plea deal. Prosecutors said Bryant’s credibility was diminished by the lie, and they did not call Bryant as a witness in Crump’s trial.

Prosecutors later filed a motion with D’Apolito asking for permission to recommend a higher prison sentence for Bryant because of his lack of honesty. But D’Apolito ruled in that case that Bryant’s actions did not rise to the level of a breach of his plea agreement, and prosecutors were not permitted to argue for a longer sentence for Bryant.