Man pleads not guilty to murder, other charges

Indicted in shooting death of woman in Hubbard Township

WARREN -- The Youngstown man accused of shooting a woman to death Dec. 16 in a vehicle off a Hubbard Township road pleaded not guilty Wednesday to three felony charges in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Devonte Douglas, 25, 1471 Dogwood Lane, was indicted in a special report of a Trumbull County grand jury charging him with aggravated murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence in the death of Adreionna Faith Hasley-Crockett, 22, 1324 Dogwood Lane, Youngstown.

The first two charges carry mandatory three-year sentences for gun specifications.

Douglas, wearing orange coveralls standing next to public defender Carlo Ciccone, did not say anything in court. Through Ciccone, Douglas pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Judge W. Wyatt McKay continued the $1 million bond set Dec. 17 in Girard Municipal Court and scheduled a pretrial hearing for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 12 in his court.

Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker said his office is not pursuing death-penalty-level charges. But Douglas could face a life sentence with chances at parole after either 20, 25 or 30 years. Becker said a maximum sentence of life without parole also is an option.

"It would be up to the judge," Becker said.

Douglas was booked 8:10 p.m. Dec. 16 into the Trumbull County jail, after he showed up at the Youngstown Police Department shortly after the shooting in an attempt to get a car out of impound. Douglas was detained for questioning, according to a report.

CRIME SCENE

A terrified woman told Trumbull County 911 dispatchers her ex-boyfriend held a gun to her head and forced her into the trunk of a vehicle before killing the woman's girlfriend, according to 911 recordings.

Judith Britton of Dogwood Lane called 911 around 10 a.m. Dec. 16 from a pull-off just off Seifert Lewis Road in Hubbard Township to report her ex shot Hasley-Crockett.

"Can you locate my call? Because I don't know where I am, but my ex just killed my girlfriend ... he killed her, he killed her. I was in the back. He drove my car. I was in the trunk. He killed her. Please ..." Britton said. "I'm so scared he's going to find me. ... I'm just so scared he's going to come back for me.

"He kidnapped me, put me in the trunk, came here (and) killed her."

From the trunk, Britton said she heard "so many shots, so many of them." She said the man shot Hasley-Crockett through the driver's side window.

Reports state the man took Britton from the scene and left her with her car. Britton said she drove back to the shooting scene to see if Hasley-Crockett was still alive and called 911.

Halsey-Crockett's Chevrolet Impala and Britton's Chevrolet Malibu were at the scene of the killing, reports said.

Hubbard Township police Chief Greg Tarr said Hasley-Crockett had multiple gunshot wounds.

The case is being investigated by Hubbard Township police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.