by Emily Canning-Dean
Reporter
Summit County -- A Twinsburg man charged in the 2008 fatal shooting of a Twinsburg police officer and Tallmadge resident has withdrawn his April 13 guilty plea and a jury trial has been scheduled for May 24, 2010.
Ashford Thompson, 25, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and several other charges April 13 before a bench trial could begin before Summit County judges Elinore Marsh Stormer, Brenda Burnham Unruh and Paul Gallagher. Thompson's sentencing hearing and subsequent conviction (in this case, Thompson is considered "convicted" following sentencing, not when the panel accepted the guilty plea April 13) was delayed in May and then again in November.
But at a Dec. 18 status hearing, Thompson's April guilty plea was deemed void, according to Stormer, and an initial not-guilty plea following his July 25, 2008, arraignment at the county court is now valid.
Stormer explained that case law handed down by the Ohio Supreme Court in June requiring court officials to explain post-release control or parole conditions to defendants, before a defendant enters a plea or is sentenced, allowed Thompson to withdraw his guilty plea. If this explanation does not take place, a plea or sentence can be considered void, Stormer said.
"No one went over this with Mr. Thompson," Stormer said Dec. 18. "This case law was handed down after he made his [guilty] plea, but we wanted to address this now instead of any issues ... coming up 10 or 15 years from now."
According to court officials, Thompson has requested a jury trial this time rather than a bench trial. Thompson's attorney John Greven declined comment, as did officials with the Summit County Prosecutor's Office in accordance with a gag order issued by Stormer earlier this year. Stormer appointed Greven and Kerry O'Brien to defend Thompson Nov. 13 after Thompson's fourth legal team, Eddie Sipplen and Annette Powers, withdrew as defense counsel Nov. 10. Sipplen attributed their withdrawal to a "total breakdown of the attorney/client relationship."
Jury selection will begin May 17, 2010, according to court officials. If a jury convicts Thompson, a sentencing hearing has been tentatively set for June 10. Pre-trial status hearings have been scheduled for January, February and March.
Thompson remains in Summit County Jail charged with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of escape, two counts of resisting arrest, three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of carrying a concealed wagon in connection with the shooting death of 11-year police officer and Tallmadge resident Joshua Miktarian.
Police have said Miktarian was shot in the head at least four times just before 2 a.m. in the driveway of Thompson's home, following a traffic stop of Thompson for suspicion of loud music and OVI.
Thompson was arrested less than an hour later at a Bedford Heights residence with a set of Miktarian's handcuffs still attached to one of his wrists.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the matter.
E-mail: ecanning@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3172