Other alleged shooter in off-campus YSU murder & shootings on tr - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

Other alleged shooter in off-campus YSU murder & shootings on trial In Akron

Updated:
By Michelle Nicks, Reporter - email

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The other suspected gunman is now on trial in Akron for the off-campus mass shooting that killed Youngstown State University student Jamail Johnson and injured 11 others.

It's the first time in nearly two decades that a trial has been moved out of Mahoning County due to extensive pretrial publicity in a case.

On Tuesday, with the jury now seated in the murder trial of Jamelle Jackson, the group traveled from Summit County to Youngstown to view the crime scene, and then heard opening statements and some testimony.

At 20-years-old, Jackson could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of murdering 25-year-old YSU student Jamail Johnson, and injuring 11 others, at a house party on Indiana Avenue in Youngstown back in February of 2011.

Police and prosecutors accuse Jackson of being one of two shooters that night.

A jury has already convicted gunman Columbus Jones, Jr. of one count of murder and 11 counts of felonious assault for his role in the crime. Jones was sentenced to 92 years in prison.

Several other suspects in the case have pled guilty for their part in the shootings, and Jackson is among the last of the six defendants to stand trial.

The surviving victims testifying for the prosecution are expected to allegedly identify Jackson as one of the shooters, and give some insight into what led up to the shootings that night.

Shooting victims are also expected to explain how murder victim Jamail Johnson was a peacekeeper and hero before he died, shielding others from the gunfire and ushering them to safety.

Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge John Durkin granted the change of venue request, allowing the trial to be moved out of Mahoning County because of extensive pre-trial publicity in the case; publicity that could have made it difficult to seat an impartial jury.

Jackson's trial could run through the end of next week.

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