YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Four of five suspects in the January kidnapping and beating of a Boardman man waived their preliminary hearings Monday in municipal court.
Waiving their hearings on charges of kidnapping and felonious assault were Dione Carter, 23, of New Court; DeMario Hoyt, 25, of Pasadena Avenue; Victoria Lewis, 28, address unavailable; and Danasia Taylor, 23, of Cordova Avenue.
The fifth suspect, Charles Pete Jr., 27, address unavailable, had his hearing continued because of conflict of interest involving his attorney. His hearing will be held after a new attorney is appointed for him.
The waivers mean that Judge Carla Baldwin was able to bind the cases over to a Mahoning County grand jury.
Of the five, Hoyt and Pete are still in the county jail.
The four were arrested Jan. 23 after a Boardman man told them he was kidnapped at gunpoint while he was outside his apartment on Hillman Way.
Police found him after being called to a fight on New Court, where the victim was in a van, stripped and beaten and burned.
The victim said he was told by his captors he would be killed and his body dumped in nearby Oak Hill Cemetery.
Police have yet to release a motive.