A grand jury indicted a local man on Monday for fleeing the scene of a murder with a 9 mm pistol, County Prosecutor C. David Warren said yesterday.
The grand jury indicted John W. Perry Jr., 23, of New Marshfield, for running away from a trailer after a gunfight during the early morning hours of Feb. 15. Perry and at least two others were in the trailer when at least four people, armed with guns, attempted to break in, prosecutors say. In the ensuing gunfight, someone fatally shot 39-year-old Donnie Putnam in the chest.
As of yesterday afternoon, Perry, currently in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, hadn't received a copy of the indictment. Until Perry receives a copy of the indictment, it will not appear in court records.
It's unclear if Perry has an attorney. At a hearing in Municipal Court on Friday, Perry represented himself and told a judge that he planned to hire an attorney.
Investigators haven't said who shot Putnam or whether they have found the gun that caused his death. Putnam died from a 9 mm bullet, the same caliber used by Perry, said Assistant County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn at a hearing on Friday. The robbers also carried pistols, though prosecutors haven't specified the caliber of those weapons.Grand juries previously indicted the four would-be robbers - Abdifatah Abdi, 17, of Columbus; Mohat Osman, 17, of Columbus; Hamda A. Jama, 21, of Columbus; and Phillip D. Boler of Athens County - for felony murder and aggravated robbery.
Abdi and Osman were each charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, one charge for threatening to rob someone and another for using a weapon in the robbery. A juvenile judge ruled both should be tried as adults, given the seriousness of the crime.
All four could spend the rest of their lives in prison if convicted.
Investigators have said they believe the robbers belong to a Columbus-based gang that came to Athens County to sell drugs. At some point, the group decided to steal cash, and possibly drugs, from the trailer, according to court filings.
Warren said he expects Perry to be arraigned next Wednesday.
1 News
Dave Hendricks
