WARREN - According to a search warrant that led to Ardeed Mitchell's arrest Sept. 6 , police were looking for medical bills, doctors instructions or ''other documentation detailing the treatment of a head injury'' following a confrontation that left a diner owner dead and his son wounded.
While police didn't find evidence of an injury being treated, they did find two weapons that are being checked to determine if they were used in the diner holdup and a .380-pistol that might be the gun used to shoot the diner owner and his son.
Mitchell pleaded not guilty Monday to capital murder charges before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge John M. Stuard. He is scheduled to return for a pretrial at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15. He is being held in Trumbull County Jail in lieu of a bond.
Mitchell faces charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and three counts of aggravated robbery. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
Warren detectives had information that Mitchell, 28, of Youngstown, was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown. However, they had to wait three weeks until they got a DNA match to look for their suspect. His DNA and fingerprints are on file since Mitchell is a convicted felon.
On Aug. 12, a gunman entered the back of Freddie's Diner that leads to an adjoining Sons of Italy club and after a struggle, owner Fred DeVengencie, 90, was shot in the neck and died, according to police. His son, Anthony, 71, was shot through the hand, the bullet piercing his mouth and lodging in the back of his head. He remains in a coma.
The bandit pushed his way out of the office, struggling with Anthony before Anthony ''lost control'' of his weapon, according to police.
During the struggle, Fred hit the bandit over the head with a bottle. Anthony was shot moments later - possibly with his own gun and possibly the same gun detectives found in the Palmyra home where Mitchell was arrested, according to investigators.
Attorney James Lewis of the Public Defender's Office represented Mitchell at the brief appearance.
