Warren man found guilty of fatal shooting at Mahoning Valley apartments

A Trumbull County jury convicted a Warren man in a fatal Feb. 11 shooting of a teenager at the Packard House Apartments.

Ashaud Johnson, 18, was found guilty of aggravated murder with a firearm specification, receiving stolen property, and two counts of tampering with evidence, ending the four-day trial in the Trumbull County courtroom before Judge Sarah T. Kovoor.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on Feb. 11, police officers found Da’Mar McKinney, 16, lying in the snow with a gunshot wound. The teen was taken to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.

First Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker called a host of officers including detectives Brian Crites and Nicole Smith to the stand, testifying about the weapons and shell casings collected at the scene and pointing out Johnson as one of two shooters in the security videos that were confiscated that night.

The defendant, represented by attorney Jeff Goodman, took the stand in his own defense, stating that he shot in self-defense.

The teen victim was part of a group from Youngstown riding to Warren for the purpose of a “gun trade,” and ended up in the parking lot of the apartment complex. The videos showed that the two men from the apartment building were the first ones shooting.

The mother of the victim said she was elated with the verdict from the six-woman, six-man jury. She said that “God is good, and justice has been served.”

Becker said he was pleased with the verdict and saluted the work of Warren police officers and detectives who gathered video and other physical evidence at the scene of the crime.

No sentencing date has been set.