Murder defendant asks to represent himself
27-year-old fires attorneys in case involving death of pregnant woman
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WARREN -- A Trumbull County judge on Friday is scheduled to consult with a murder defendant who told him Monday he wants to defend himself at trial.
At a pretrial hearing Monday before Common Pleas Judge Peter J. Kontos, Kemari James, 27, said he has fired his two attorneys because they haven't taken the charges against him seriously.
James, who is accused of killing a pregnant woman last April at her northwest side home, now is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Friday with Kontos, who will read him a 20-page document outlining the procedure for a "pro se" defense.
Kontos had ruled Dec. 30 against James that prosecution evidence involving a cellphone found at the murder scene and a witness identification of James in a photo lineup can be used at trial.
James has been held in Trumbull County jail in lieu of $2 million bond since May 15 after he was arrested in Baltimore and waived extradition. The defendant, who last had a Parkman Road SW address, is charged with two counts of murder, each with firearms specifications; one count of attempted murder; one count of aggravated robbery; one count of escape; and one count of having a weapon as a convicted felon.
If convicted, James faces a potential sentence of 36 years to life, which includes the two three-year mandatory gun terms.
Also on Monday, Kontos scheduled James' jury trial to begin on April 26.
Attorneys for James, 27, had wanted to keep from a jury any evidence secured from a cellphone found at the murder scene. They also want to eliminate the identification of the murder suspect by key witness Andre Haynes, 29, who picked out James' photo from an array set up by police detectives a few hours after the shooting.
But during Monday's pretrial hearing, James said his two lawyers, David Rouzzo and James Melfi, "never talked to me."
"In this high-profile case, they are not taking it seriously at all," James told the judge.
Rouzzo, however, said he and Melfi have done a lot of work in James' case, and "we are ready and willing to go to trial."
James is accused of killing La'Nesha Workman, 26, who was pregnant and died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Haynes had testified during an October hearing about fighting with the shooter after the fatal shots during the April 17 incident at the Ogden Avenue NW home. He later identified the shooter as James, whom he knew from high school.
A court brief filed by Rouzzo stated his client was identified in a police photo lineup that was "unnecessarily suggestive." Rouzzo also wrote that all evidence used by the prosecution was taken as a result of a "warrantless seizure and search of the defendant's cellular phone" and should be thrown out. In his decision last month, Kontos ruled against both motions.