Judge ponders fate of Champion car wash kidnapping suspect
WARREN, Ohio - A visiting judge has indicated he may announce a verdict Monday in the case of a Warren man accused of forcing his way into a woman's car at knifepoint at a Champion Township car wash.
Testimony wrapped up Wednesday in the case of 64-year-old David Honzu, who is charged with three counts of kidnapping, robbery, and tampering with evidence.
Honzu elected to go on trial without a jury and allow visiting judge Gary Yost to decide his case in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
The charges stem from a June 4 incident in which he allegedly approached a woman at knifepoint at a Mahoning Avenue car wash and forced his way into her car. The woman told police that Honzu told her to get into the passenger side of the car but she didn't move.
According to the report, the victim was able to get out of the car and move away from Honzu, who allegedly tried to grab her shirt as she escaped. Police say the victim ran away through the parking lot.
Honzu was arrested the next day and has been in the Trumbull County Jail since then.
In a separate case, Honzu is scheduled to go on trial December 12 on three three counts of kidnapping with sexual motivation and two counts of rape. The indictment in that case also accuses Honzu of being a sexually violent predator.
That indictment stems from what Assistant County Prosecutor Gabe Wildman calls a "cold case" that allegedly occurred on July 29, 2007. Wildman says they have been working on the case for years.
He says because of a statewide cold case initiative, which includes testing old rape kits, the county was able to indict him.
"Warren PD tested numerous rape kits. This was one of them," Wildman said, "Mr. Honzu's DNA was found in this rape kit on the cold case."
Both indictments include specifications that Honzu is a sexually violent offender and a repeat offender, which could make his punishment more severe if he is convicted.
In 2016 Honzu was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of attempted abduction.
Calling Honzu a "serial rapist", Wildman says Honzu has been previously convicted of menacing by stalking a child and escape.
"Mr. Honzu has a long extensive criminal history," he said "He's been convicted previously of rape. He's also been previously convicted of a crime called menacing by stalking with a sexual motivation... that crime was against a child."
If convicted, Wildman says Honzu could serve the rest of his life in prison.
