Judge dismisses felonious assault charge against man, 27
Betras said case is another instance of late evidence
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YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney dismissed a felonious assault charge against Marques Jones, 27, on Wednesday after defense attorney Dave Betras again complained about late evidence, saying a severe sanction is needed because of a 10-year history of such issues in Mahoning County.
Jones did plead to one count each of tampering with evidence and failure to comply with the order of a police officer, both third-degree felonies.
Betras said he learned of crime lab photographs and a crime lab report Tuesday afternoon -- less than a day before Jones was set for trial Wednesday morning. Betras said he wanted to use one of the photos he learned about Tuesday in the trial and doesn't know whether other photos would be useful because he hadn't had time to see all of them yet. He said one photo shows a single bullet shell casing in a car, which is germane to the number of shots fired inside of a car.
Betras said there is a "consistent pattern of (evidence) being provided late" to the defense in criminal cases in Mahoning County. "The court's always doing the least restrictive thing to sanction them," Betras said of the county prosecutor's office and police personnel.
"The underlying problem is an institutional, decade-long problem of (evidence) violations that need to be sanctioned appropriately so it stops," Betras said.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro issued a news release Wednesday stating that her office is "disappointed" that the felonious assault charge was dismissed because of the late evidence.
"Sixteen photographs and the crime lab evidence sheet were in the possession of the Youngstown Police Department and were not given to the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office to turn over to defense counsel," the release states.
"Soon after taking office (in January 2025), Prosecutor Maro implemented procedures to make sure complete (evidence) is disclosed in every case. Still, there have been ongoing issues with the Youngstown Police Department. The Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office has been meeting with Chief (Sharon) Cole and her staff in an effort to rectify these issues," it states.
"In this case, more than a week before trial, the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office reached out to YPD to ensure all discovery was produced. The police department failed to comply with our request," the release continued.
Prosecutors will be recommending prison time for Jones when he is sentenced, the release states.
"Prosecutor Lynn Maro takes discovery (evidence being turned over to the defense) very seriously and took office promising accountability, timely discovery and increased communication with our law enforcement partners. The dismissal of this charge does not meet the standard Prosecutor Maro has set for this office. The prosecutor's office will continue to work with police to impress upon them the need to disclose all evidence."
Wednesday's episode is the third time this year in high-level felony cases that late evidence was given as a reason for the postponement of a trial or reason why defense attorneys wanted sanctions given to the state. One of them was in Sweeney's court in February.
EARLIER EVIDENTIARY ISSUES
Attorney John Shultz raised the issue that time, saying 382 photos were disclosed to him the previous Friday morning for a Monday-morning trial, along with text messages that were possibly helpful to Shultz's client's case. Maro explained that prosecutors did not know about the photos either and contacted the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office to discuss it. The trial was postponed. Maro said sheriff's detectives considered the missing information unnecessary and called the missing evidence "tangential," such as "a dispute with a neighbor." But "We have explained to them 'Everything means everything.'"
In late June, Judge John Durkin postponed a murder trial because Betras learned that a witness was interviewed by a Youngstown police detective after the person testified to a county grand jury. Betras did not receive a copy of the interview until the morning of the trial. Betras also asked for sanctions in that case. A hearing is set for Aug. 14 and a jury trial after that.
DISMISSAL REQUEST
Betras asked Sweeney Wednesday to dismiss the most serious of Jones' charges, the felonious assault. Betras told Sweeney that if she dismissed the felonious assault, the prosecution will appeal. "They can take it to the court of appeals and say 'Hey, she overstepped her bounds,'" Betras said.
He added, "The only ones that can put a stop to this (late evidence) are the judges." He added that judges typically cite case law indicating judges must order the "least restrictive" sanction necessary to resolve late-arriving evidence. But, "The purpose of a sanction is so it doesn't happen anymore. It keeps happening," Betras said.
Betras then offered to enter guilty pleas on Jones' behalf to Jones' two lower-level felonies in the case -- tampering with evidence and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer -- if Sweeney dismissed the felonious assault.
A short time later, Sweeney agreed, saying "The court will dismiss the felonious assault" and the hearing was quickly adjourned.
It reconvened later Wednesday morning with Jones pleading guilty to the tampering and failure to comply charges. A presentence investigation will be carried out, and he will be sentenced later.
THE INCIDENT
According to Youngstown police, Jones' charges stemmed from an incident on West Judson Avenue on the South Side in March 2025 in which Jones is accused of firing a gun at another man.
When officers arrived for the 4:58 p.m. call, they spoke with a person who said they and Jones were not getting along, so the person called a man to "intervene." When the man arrived, Jones fired multiple gunshots at him and fled the area, the person said. The man was not injured.
Youngstown police officers spotted the pickup truck Jones was driving on State Street on the East Side. A traffic stop was attempted, but Jones fled. Jones was later booked into the county jail, but the report does not state when or how that happened.
The report states that officers spoke with the victim, who said the person on West Judson Avenue called him, and the man could hear Jones telling the person to have the man come over, so the man did. When he got there, Jones ran at the man with a gun in his hand and yelled something at him.
The man was in fear for his life so he drove away. His child was in the car. The man drove around the block but returned. Jones had left, so he pulled into the driveway, the report states.
That is when Jones pulled in front of the house and told the man he "only wanted to fight." But after the man approached Jones, Jones fired his gun multiple times at him, then drove away, the report states.
When officers spoke further to the man, he admitted he had fired at Jones as Jones was driving away, but only after Jones fired at him, the report states.