YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A tentative trial date has been set for October 2 for one of the suspects in the 2020 slaying of a 4-year-old Struthers boy whose case was sent back to juvenile court.

The new date is 90 days after an expected June 21 hearing in Mahoning County Juvenile Court for Brandon Crump, 19, who faces several charges in the September 2020 shooting death of Rowan Sweeney and the wounding of four other people at the Perry Street home of Sweeney’s mother in Struthers. 

Crump had originally been charged as an adult in a superseding indictment but those charges were moved back to juvenile court because a bindover hearing on those charges was never held. 

Crump was 17 when Sweeney was killed and had originally been arrested on charges of aggravated robbery as a juvenile. Those charges were bound over to adult court following a hearing, which is why Crump had a pretrial hearing today in common pleas court before Judge Maureen Sweeney.

Also charged with Sweeney’s death is Kimonie Bryant, 26. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Crump was originally to go on trial June 20, but the bindover hearing, which was to be next month, was pushed back because of new evidence unearthed when a third suspect in the case who had been on the run for years, Andre McCoy, 22, was arrested in February.

Crump’s attorney, Lou DeFabio, asked for the bindover hearing to be pushed back so he could review that evidence and see how it affects his client’s case.

Assistant Prosecutor Mike Yacovone said nine cellphones were seized when McCoy was arrested and investigators are preparing and serving other search warrants.

“There’s more out there,” Yacovone said.

DeFabio said he expects the hearing to take place as scheduled but he cautioned that the amount of material generated by the new evidence will take a long time to review.

He said he would not be doing his due diligence as a lawyer if he did not ask for a continuance to examine the new evidence and see if there is anything present that could help his client.

Judge D’Apolito also agreed to allow DeFabio to have an independent lab review a DNA report that was completed in the case by a Virginia-based lab. Prosecutors based their decision to try Crump first based on that report. Haggling over that report by Bryant’s attorneys is one of the reasons the case has been delayed.

Judge D’Apolito said he wanted to set a trial date for Crump so the court is ready to have his case proceed should the timetable in juvenile court stay the same in regards to Crump’s bindover hearing.