MANSFIELD – Deshawn Dowdell is back for another jury trial.

Dowdell, 24, is charged with murder, two counts of discharging a firearm at or near a prohibited area and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle in connection with the April 2018 shooting death of Terrence Harris, 19.

In February, jurors deliberated for five hours over the course of two days before telling Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Robinson declared a mistrial.

The case proved difficult for jurors because two of the state’s key witnesses said they initially lied to law enforcement before changing their stories for prosecutors and the jury.

There was no DNA evidence linking Dowdell to the shooting.

Juror selection got underway Monday in the new trial.

While reportedly in pursuit in a red Cadillac, Dowdell is accused of shooting at a car in which Harris was the front-seat passenger. Harris was struck in the back, with the bullet perforating a lung and striking his heart.

Dowdell was not arrested in the case until Sept. 12, when he fell through the ceiling of a Wood Street apartment during a police search.

Authorities recovered more than 500 grams of heroin and more than 600 grams of fentanyl at the scene. 

The resulting drug case went to trial in late March, with Dowdell serving as his own attorney.

A jury found him guilty as charged on 11 counts, including trafficking in heroin and aggravated trafficking in fentanyl.

Judge Robinson called it the “most serious fentanyl case in Richland County history” and sentenced Dowdell to 27 years in prison.

First Assistant Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher handled that case. She said Dowdell was still “doing business” as recently as the weekend before his conviction, according to taped jailhouse calls.

She added that he showed “zero remorse” and lied repeatedly during the drug trafficking trial. 

Another drug case is pending against Dowdell, who was indicted in relation to a recent sweep involving 79 individuals. 

Dowdell did not testify in the murder case. He was represented by the Cleveland father-son team of Angelo and Joseph Lonardo. They are back for the retrial before Robinson, which is expected to last about a week.

More on this case: Attorneys deliver closing arguments in Dowdell murder trial

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

 

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