Kashaun Williams found guilty in capital murder trial in Trumbull County

UPDATE: Kashaun Williams found guilty of all eight counts and death specs. Jurors deliberated about three hours. Mitigation phase for death penalty consideration to begin 9 am Monday in courtroom of Judge Roonald J Rice.

PREVIOUS STORY: A Trumbull County jury Is expected to get the case sometime Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Kashaun Williams, who is charged with eight felonies, including two counts of aggravated murder with death penalty specifications.

Williams, 30, is charged in the early April 2, 2023 shooting death of 34 year old James W. Chapman Jr. outside Chapman’s home on Lener Avenue SW in Warren.

Prosecutors conclude case Tuesday

The state concluded its testimony around the lunch hour after calling six people to the stand after calling nine people to the stand on Monday.

Those testifying Tuesday morning were detective Sgt. Eric Laprocina of the Warren Police Department, David Miller and Joshua Barr, forensic experts with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Dr. George C. Sterbenz, deputy Trumbull County coroner who conducted the autopsy of Chapman.

Also testifying were Keith Edwards Jennings and Deputy Jeff Marsolo, who testified that the murder weapon, a Springfield Armory 9mm pistol, was stolen from Jennings’ Fowler home back in January. One of the charges against Williams is receiving stolen property.

In the state testimony:

• Dr. Sterbenz says that Chapman died of two gunshot wounds to the body which entered from the back. One of the bullets created a “tight contact” wound which pierced the thoracic vertebrae and cut the spinal cord in half. It also pierced the right lung and liver and fractured a rib. A second bullet entered the left lung and heart, piercing the pulmonary artery before exiting at the sternum. This wound was catastrophic, Dr. Sterbenz says, as it created a rapid loss of about a half- gallon of blood.
• Miller testified that Williams DNA was found on two places of the Springfield Armory weapon, while Barr, the ballistics expert stated test firing of the weapon created shells that were similar in markings to the five shells found at the crime scene. Also two bullet fragments taken inside the house at 690 Lener Avenue SW also matched the murder weapon. Those fragments came from when Williams shot Chapman’s live-in girlfriend Martina Moore, who testified Monday , identifying Williams as the assailant. Williams was wounded but recovered. Sgt. Laprocina started Tuesday’s testimony by stating he delivered the ballistics and DNA evidence to the crime lab at BCI in Richfield. He also certified that the chain of custody of evidence was not broken.

Defense started presentation on Tuesday afternoon

Before lunch, defense attorney Thomas Zena told Judge Ronald J. Rice that he expects to call some defense witness after the cross examination of Dr. Sterbenz is completed in early afternoon. Zena called defendant Kashaun Williams to the stand despite Judge Rice warning that the jury would learn about his past criminal record if he testified. Williams took the stand and told a scenario of the night of the murder in which Chapman’s girlfriend was responsible for the initial shooting. Williams did admit to shooting Martina Moore in a self-defense scenario but claimed he did not bring a gun to the Lerner Avenue house and did not shoot Chapman to death.

Before Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker could cross-examine the defendant, a fire alarm sounded, clearing the courtroom.

Rice said he still expects closing arguments to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday. If the jury finds Williams of the murder and capital specifications, a mitigation portion of the trial will have to be held, but that will not be determined until after the jury deliberations.

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This story was originally published November 7, 2023 at 3:48 PM.