GUILTY OH - Josh Williams, 20, Joshua Haber, 19, slain, 3 hurt in Warren shooting, Feb 2017

[JanetElaine]

Jury selection:

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/17/trumbull-county--potential-jurors-picked/

Hamad trial jurors view murder scene

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/20/hamad-trial-jurors-view-murder-scene/

"The jurors in the Nasser Hamad aggravated murder trial are viewing the inside and outside of Hamad’s home in what is called a jury view this morning."

Opening statements in Nasser Hamad trial to begin today (10/23)

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/23/trumbull-county-opening-statements-in-ha/

And a long article that gives some insight into who's who, and what happened in the months that preceded the shooting:

Woman at center of feud that led to deaths in Hamad case expected to testify

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/22/woman-at-center-of-feud-to-testify-in-ha/

"On Nov. 6, 2016, the Howland Police Department became well aware there was a problem involving Tracy, Brian, their sons and Hamad because telephone calls from the Hendrickson and Hamad residences came fast and furious that day, according to Howland police reports.

At 9:45 p.m., Brian, 48, called 911 saying Dylan was talking on the phone with his mother, Tracy, who was staying with Hamad, 48, and Brian could hear Hamad in the background threatening to come to the Hendrickson home and shoot somebody."

 

[JanetElaine]

Video of opening statements of the prosecution, Hamad visible to the left: http://www.vindy.com/videos/2017/oct/23/4478/

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/23/nasser-hamad-trial-jurors-poised-hear-opening-stat/?nw

"Chris Becker, assistant county prosecutor, told jurors in his opening statements this morning about 17 witnesses driving past the home of Nasser Hamad at the time of the Feb. 25 shootings, or of witnesses who lived nearby.

One after another, he described what they saw: Hamad shooting into the van containing the five people who came to his house that day. Some saw Hamad putting his gun inside the car as he fired."

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Nasser Hamad trial heats up with comments from victim and Hamad

Shively testified Tuesday he had never met his distant cousin Hendrickson in person, but he had “met” him through Facebook.

Shively told his mother about the vulgar comments and showed her some when she got home the afternoon of Feb. 25.

Trent-Vokes, 42, testified she thought the comments from Hamad were horrible.

She admitted during her testimony Wednesday she suspected the man making the vulgar comments might be Tracy Hendrickson’s boyfriend, but her only desire was to have a face-to-face conversation with the man and resolve the conflict she observed in the comments. Shively also had joined in the postings.

Trent-Vokes and her son both testified they never expected the face-to-face meeting with Hamad to turn deadly. Shively said he wanted to go to Hamad’s house to stand up for his relatives, the Hendricksons.

Jury watches police statement from Howland man charged in deadly shooting

He told the detectives he had been harassed by the family of Tracy Hendrickson’s ex-husband for nearly six months. In the video, Hamad said he didn’t even know his girlfriend’s son, Bryce, was in the van until he was being escorted into a police cruiser and saw him smiling at the end of his driveway.

Hamad told detectives he thought he defended himself pretty decent in the fight but when he went in to grab his gun, he said he saw two people reach for a knife.

“I was getting close to the van. I just started firing. I got tired of this s**t,” he told detectives. “I went back in because there was more bullets in there. Grabbed another clip and one of them was saying, ‘Please.'”

Later in the video as Villanueva was taking pictures of Hamad’s injuries, he told Villanueva, “You know it was self-defense, right?”

Girlfriend at center of Trumbull Co. capital murder trial claims harassment

“I never thought that it would come to this. They kept…saying and saying and saying that they were gonna do things but…I never dreamt that they would come to our house. Ever,” Hendrickson said.

She claimed she and Hamad were being harassed by her husband, saying he would repeatedly throw trash on Hamad’s property as he drove by.

Prosecutors argued that Hamad threatened him back by placing a sign in his yard sometime before the shooting. The sign included sexual references to taunt Hendrickson’s husband, prosecutors said.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Nasser Hamad takes the stand in Trumbull County Court

He says he believed he was in constant danger from the people he shot because they would routinely drive by his home and call him racist names and threaten him.

Hamad claimed he would call police about the threats and they would do nothing.

Then on February 25th, five people pulled up in a van and a fight ensued. Hamad says they all started kicking and punching him.

"What was going through my mind right there was fear and survival. your body does something different people aren't going to understand even if I try to explain it," said Hamad.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/27/hamad-trial-girlfriend-continues-testimony-morning/

The defense has rested its case in the Nasser Hamad aggravated murder case after Hamad testified for another hour after lunch. That ends testimony in the trial, and closing arguments will be given Monday morning.

The jury was instructed to bring an overnight bag Monday because they will be sequestered that night, meaning they will go to a hotel that night instead of going home.

 

[JanetElaine]

Thanks, JWBS. I've kinda quit updating since nobody seems interested, lol. I commend you.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Jury: Nasser Hamad guilty on all charges

http://www.wfmj.com/story/36719767/jury-delivers-verdict-in-nasser-hamad-capital-murder-trial

Monday afternoon, just hours after the jury began deliberations, the jurors announced that based on the evidence they have been able to determine Nasser Hamad guilty on two charges of aggravated murder, and several counts of attempted aggravated murder.

The jurors deliberated the case for about two hours.

The next portion of the case begins later this week as the jury returns either Wednesday or Thursday to begin hearing whether Hamad should face the death penalty.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/30/closing-arguments-underway-hamad-murder-trial/

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Thanks, JWBS. I've kinda quit updating since nobody seems interested, lol. I commend you.

Thanks and I know what you mean. I did appreciate the updates you have provided.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Defense team calls all of its witnesses, Hamad doesn't testify

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/nov/06/hamad-trial-hamad-cuts-communication-two-his-lawye/

Nasser Hamad's defense team has called all of its witnesses in the mitigation phase of Hamad's aggravated murder trial following a break in which Hamad decided not to take the witness stand today.

Over the previous two hours, before the most recent break, two of Hamad's children and his sister testified about Hamad taking care of his three children from the time they were small after he and his wife divorced. A nephew of Hamad's also testified about spending several weeks every summer with the Hamads.

Hamad's girlfriend, Tracy Hendrickson, also testified briefly. It was the second time she took the stand.

Earlier today, Dr. James Reardon, a Columbus psychologist who evaluated Nasser Hamad in the spring, testified that Hamad was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder at the time of the killings.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Sentencing of man convicted in Howland double murder to resume Wednesday

http://wkbn.com/2017/11/07/jury-still-out-on-sentencing-for-man-convicted-in-howland-double-murder/

Jurors were sequestered just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night and did not make a decision on the punishment for Nasser Hamad.

Their cell phones were confiscated and TVs disconnected. Deliberations will resume Wednesday morning.

The decision from the jurors has to be unanimous. One juror could prevent the death penalty.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Verdict is life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/nov/08/hamad-trial-verdict-reached-capital-case/?nw

The jury in the Nasser Hamad aggravated murder trial this morning recommended that Hamad get life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years for killing two young men and injuring three other people at his home Feb. 25.

But Chris Becker, assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said he will ask Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to sentence Hamad to consecutive sentences, meaning Hamad could get a sentence of 60 years to life.

Hamad, 48, will learn his sentence 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Judge Rice will make the decision on whether to give consecutive sentences or 30 years to life.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Judge sentences convicted murderer Nasser Hamad to 36 years in prison

Judge Ronald Rice took the jury's suggestion, saying that the sentence of 30 years to life was fair in his opinion.

Judge Rice ordered that Hamad serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years for the two aggravated murders charges, in addition, a three-year firearm specification was added to each charge.

Those firearm charges must be served prior to the life sentence. In total, Hamad will spend at least 36 years behind bars before the possibility of parole.

Judge sentences Howland murderer, calling his actions ‘foolishness’

For the first time this trial, the family of Williams and Haber addressed the court, telling Judge Rice about how much they hurt over the loss of their loved ones. They said the young men never had the chance to grow up and experience life.

“There’s a permanent hole in my family that will never heal and that is our life sentence,” said Kristy Williams, Joshua Williams’ aunt.

“My prayer is for this man to never be out of prison and be able to do this to any other family again,” said Sandra Williams, the victim’s grandmother.

Judge sentences Nasser Hamad to life for Howland killings

Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court said the sentence is appropriate to the defendant's conduct. The judge said there is no doubt that five people came onto his property to do him harm. But it was precipitated by Hamad's obscene and "relentless blather" and culminated by his causing the death of two young people.

Hamad had choices that day, Judge Rice said. "Instead of reloading and returning to the fray outside your doorstep". In a "severe over-reaction," he added.

Hamad said jurors heard only "lies, trickery or deception" from the prosecution, and nothing else from "my team." He said his Constitutional rights were "broken" and that he was "duped" with evidence being hidden. "I have a right to defend myself."

He said his "story hasn't been told" and that he will go through the appeal system. "I just got to say the truth will come out."

Defense attorney opens up about Nasser Hamad and capital murder trial

Oglesby says looking back, one thing that stands out was the fact they weren't able to strongly send the message to the jury that Hamad did not know who the attackers were the afternoon of February 25th.

"The fact that all this stuff was going back and forth was really irrevelant because he didn't know who the people were that came over so there is a different type of fear when your fighting someone unknown as opposed to fighting somone you know," said Oglesby.

Oglesby also said Hamad was almost too honest for his own good, starting with the night of the shooting and not hiring an attorney before talking to police.

"He should have obtained an attorney, ok, that was numero uno. The questioning, the tone was appeared to be dedicated to having Nasser say things to dig him further in a hole. I always tell my clients, when you talk to police, you're not talking to the police to get you off the hook, they're talking to you to get you on the hook," said Oglesby.

Completion of jury’s duties in Hamad case allows parties to talk

 

[JanetElaine]

Wait, Hamad constantly said that the five that came to his house had been harassing him for a long time and he was so scared of them, to the point where he feared for his life when they came to his house, and now suddenly the defense attorney wants to say Hamad had 'no idea' who the people were that came to his house so that's why he was scared? SMH, what a load of horse puckey. Glad he got locked away, regardless of the behavior of the others he had no right to do what he did, it was an execution pure and simple, he's lucky he didn't get the death penalty.

 

[JanetElaine]

It's quite a long article, hence the long quote. Very interesting read IMO.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/nov/12/insight-hamad/

Insight into Hamad


On Oct. 5, 2016, one month before a dispute between Nasser Hamad and his girlfriend’s family came to the attention of Howland police through multiple 911 calls, Hamad got a stiff rebuke from a Trumbull County Common Pleas Court magistrate over his behavior toward a former business associate.


Magistrate Patrick McCarthy approved a five-year protection order against Hamad that day, ordering him to have no contact with Chris Sullivan of Howland, who requested the order. It appears to have quieted that dispute.

The words McCarthy used to admonish Hamad in 2016 – about four months before the now-infamous Feb. 25 fatal shooting in Howland – were similar to the ones Judge Ronald Rice of common pleas court would use 13 months later as Hamad was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years in prison.

“You did things you shouldn’t have done,” McCarthy told Hamad in audio recordings of the 2016 hearing obtained by The Vindicator. “I see it in your text messages. You don’t take any responsibility for anything. All you want to do is point fingers.”

[snip]


After McCarthy heard evidence in the protection-order case, he described Hamad’s many text messages to Sullivan as childish and illegal. One of the magistrate’s observations was that Hamad appeared to obsess over minor slights, especially “smirks” Hamad said his adversary had given him.


Evidence at Hamad’s murder trial indicated before the shootings, Hamad also noticed what he called a “smirk” on the face of Shively and soon thereafter tackled Shively to the ground, starting a melee. The deadly gunfire followed, with Hamad getting a gun from the house and shooting the five as they prepared to drive away.

 

[JanetElaine]

http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/oct/02/key-witness-hamad-shooting-found-dead/

Key witness in Hamad shooting found dead


"A man who likely would have been a key witness in the Nasser Hamad trial scheduled to begin Oct. 11 died on Saturday.

An autopsy is scheduled for today for Bryce D. Hendrickson, 20, who was found unresponsive in a house in McDonald Saturday and was pronounced dead."

Central figure in Hamad trial, Bryce Hendrickson died of drug overdose, coroner rules


http://www.vindy.com/news/2018/feb/14/central-figure-in-hamad-case-hendrickson/

"The results took more than three months to obtain, but the Trumbull County coroner has ruled that Bryce Hendrickson, one of the central figures in the Nasser Hamad aggravated-murder case, died of a drug overdose.

Hendrickson, 20, formerly of Howland, and Nicole Washko, 28, of Cortland were found unresponsive in a home on West 2nd Street in McDonald on Sept. 30, 2017, and were later pronounced dead. Hendrickson was living there with his father and brother."

 

[JanetElaine]

http://wkbn.com/2018/03/23/month-into-life-sentence-convicted-howland-killer-asks-for-parole/

Month into life sentence, convicted Howland killer asks for parole


"...[FONT=&amp]Hamad was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, according to a motion filed in a Trumbull County Court. He said the cancer has spread to his lungs. [/FONT][FONT=&amp]Thursday, Trumbull County Judge Ronald Rice denied the motion,..."[/FONT]

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Nasser Hamad speaks out in prison interview about Howland shootings

"If my story was told right, it would have been changed big time," Hamad said.

Hamad is convinced his three attorneys conspired against him during his trial in Trumbull County last year, alleging they did not use enough of the evidence from Facebook in court that he claims proved he was taunted by young men.

He says turning a gun on them after a physical fight was his only option that day. Hamad says he does not regret pulling the trigger.

"No, I was saving my life," he said. "I was in danger and nobody knows what it was like there. Even the witnesses said there was five or six people attacking me and make no mistake when I came out with a gun, this was self-defense."

Reaction to Nasser Hamad's prison interview

After listening to Nasser Hamad's message to the media from behind prison walls, Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker says he has no doubt the convicted killer is where he belongs.

"He has zero remorse and when he says, 'I would do it again.', that just tells me he's a raving lunatic, a homicidal maniac, who basically wanted to kill five people and would still do it," Becker said.

In his sit down interview with 21 News, Hamad insisted that he called 911 the day of the shooting for help. But Becker says the facts showed otherwise.

"He didn't do it. He lied. We couldn't find it. There was none there and besides that, his attorneys could have subpoenaed the 911 records," Becker said.

 

[JanetElaine]

Convicted killer Nasser Hamad dies serving prison sentence

"The Department of Correction has confirmed convicted killer Nasser Hamad has died.

Hamad was serving a life sentence after being convicted of two counts of aggravated murder and six counts of attempted aggravated murder with firearm specifications."

......

"In March he asked for Parole due to a terminal illness. He said he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a type of cancer.

[snip]

Oglesby said he dismissed that complaint because Hamad is now getting the medical care that he requested. He said he is being treated at the James Cancer Care Center at The Ohio State University.

[snip]

We (WKBN) are working to find the exact cause of his death and more details. "