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Co-defendants in murder trial face separate trials

A judge has ruled that two Mansfield men accused of murder will face separate trials.

Richland County Common Pleas Judge Phil Naumoff issued his ruling Thursday at the end of a motion to consolidate the trial filed by prosecutors.

Because of Naumoff's ruling, the trial of 23-year-old Cyrus Ellerbe is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Co-defendant Edonnez Williams, 18, will go on trial later.

They are both accused of six counts of murder, eight counts of grievous bodily harm and firing a firearm on or near a prohibited area.

The shooting occurred on October 27 during a high school party at 810 Ferndale Ave. Jarmel Boyd, 17, and Brandon Collins, 18, were both killed, while four others were injured. Mansfield police had previously said the shooting was a dispute between two gangs.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Brown supported the motion to consolidate the trial, while defense attorneys Josh Brown and Terry Hitchman both opposed it.

Christopher Brown pointed out that two or more defendants could be charged in the same indictment if they were involved in the same act, transaction or series of acts.

Public prosecutor: Video footage shows co-defendants arriving at party

“In this case, that's exactly what happened,” said the deputy district attorney. “We know for a fact from video footage that these two defendants arrived at a party and allegedly fired shots.”

Brown said additional footage shows Ellerbe and Williams together the entire night in question. He added that any trial will be exactly the same with the same witnesses.

The deputy prosecutor said that joining the cases would conserve judicial resources, reduce the likelihood of inconsistent results in consecutive proceedings and reduce inconvenience to witnesses.

Brown said prosecutors could call more than 40 witnesses.

“The state is very concerned about the availability and cooperation of several witnesses,” he said. “It will be a herculean task to interview a third of these witnesses.”

Brown said many of the witnesses from the congregation were “bystanders who are 16, 17 years old.” He said many were terrified to testify and it would be an “extreme risk” to have them testify in separate trials.

“It would truly be a miscarriage of justice if there were separate trials,” Brown said.

Defense attorney Josh Brown pointed out that a July 1 ruling stated that no further adjournments would be granted.

He also denied the video evidence.

“I've watched the video footage over and over again. You can't tell who was outside the car,” Brown said.

The defense attorney said he was not shown any footage showing Ellerbe and Williams together after the shooting.

Defense attorney says he is ready to go to trial

Brown said he has been working on the case for weeks, with evidence filling seven folders and 28 recorded witness statements.

He added that he had filed 42 subpoenas on June 12 to give witnesses sufficient time to prepare for trial.

“The reason they (prosecutors) want the defendants to sit here together is because the jury will say, 'Based on all this evidence, they must be guilty,'” Brown said.

The trial of co-defendant Williams is scheduled for September 24. Hitchman said it was “impossible” for him to be ready by then.

Williams was 17 years old at the time of the crime. He initially turned to juvenile court to see if he would be charged as an adult.

Hitchman said he represented Williams at the Bindover hearing but was not appointed as his trial counsel until Aug. 12.

The defense attorney said he spent 35 hours preparing for the juvenile court hearing but did not have a chance to review all of the evidence for trial.

“Procedural economy cannot override the defendant’s right to a fair trial,” Hitchman said.

A court ruling requires a defendant to be tried within six months of being charged, Hitchman said, meaning Williams' trial would not take place until February 2025.

Naumoff joined Brown and Hitchman. The judge pointed out that co-defendant Ellerbe has been in prison for nine months and has a right to have his case tried.

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