Jury selection starts Monday in Youngstown gas station murder trial

 YOUNGSTOWN Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the trial of Akeem Hargrove, who is charged in a 2022 fatal shooting at a Youngstown gas station.

The shooting occurred on Dec. 22, 2022, at a Shell gas station on the city’s south side.

According to police, Bell was shot by two men wearing masks who then fled on foot down Samuel Avenue. Hargrove was arrested days after the shooting. Charges were dropped against a second suspect in the case after a grand jury didn’t find enough evidence to hand out an indictment.

Hargrove’s trial will be held before Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. D’Apolito. The prosecution, led by Special Prosecutors Brad Gessner and Christopher Delisio, has filed a motion requesting a jury view of the crime scene.

The motion asks the court to transport jurors to the Shell gas station at 1907 South Avenue and then along a specific route to a vacant lot on Samuel Avenue. From there, the jurors would be instructed to walk and observe the gas station’s front doors and parking lot.

The prosecution stated that the on-site view would help jurors understand spatial relationships related to the charges.

Special prosecutors were appointed after Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Mauro cited a possible conflict of interest in the case.

Akeem Hargrove