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Two men charged in the death of Juvar King Sr. of Warren were acquitted Friday of the most serious charges in his murder, but were found guilty on lesser charges of arson and tampering with evidence.
Proceedings wrapped up Friday after a weeklong trial in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Nathaniel Crockett, 29, of Cleveland, and John L. Armstrong, 51, of Warren, were found guilty of arson and tampering with evidence. They were found not guilty on all other charges, including multiple murder and felonious assault charges, as well as kidnapping and offenses against a human corpse.
The judge hearing the case denied motions to acquit the pair before giving instructions to the jurors.
Crockett was indicted in June of 2025 on 10 counts, including aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of kidnapping, one count of arson, one count of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of having weapons while under disability.
Several months later, in late August 2025, Armstrong was arrested after a brief standoff during which a gunshot was fired toward law enforcement officers.
He was taken into custody in Dayton by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team and Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
Armstrong had been sought since March 2025 on an aggravated murder warrant from the East Cleveland Police Department in the death of King, who was reported missing Feb. 4, 2025, after failing to pick up his two daughters. His body was found March 17 outside a home at Chapman Avenue and Terrace Road in East Cleveland.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled that King died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators tracked Armstrong to an address in the 3600 block of Delphos Avenue in Dayton. As officers approached, a round was fired from inside the residence toward them, prompting a call for SWAT, which took command and arrested Armstrong without further incident. Armstrong was indicted on the same charges as Crockett.
King was reported missing Feb. 5, 2025, after last being seen the previous day in Warren. His vehicle was found burned in Cleveland on the evening of Feb. 4, authorities said.
Evidence showed King traveled to the area near Crockett's residence in Cleveland Feb. 4. Surveillance video and phone records later revealed that King's vehicle and a vehicle linked to Crockett were seen traveling through Cleveland and East Cleveland before reaching the location where King's car was set ablaze. DNA evidence further tied Crockett to the crimes, prosecutors said.
Armstrong and Crockett will be sentenced Tuesday, according to court records.