YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — One of the three defendants in the 2020 shooting death of a 4-year-old Struthers boy will now face charges as an adult.
A Mahoning County grand jury returned an indictment against Brandon Crump, 19. He faces three counts of aggravated murder charges, three counts of attempted murder, four counts of felonious assault, one count of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery, each with firearm specifications; and one count each of escape, robbery and conspiracy charges.
Wednesday, Crump waived a hearing in Mahoning County Juvenile Court to determine if his case should be bound over to common pleas court.
Crump’s charges are related to the September 2020 death of 4-year-old Rowan Sweeney. Crump was 17 at the time the crimes were committed.
Sweeney was killed and four others wounded in what prosecutors said was a robbery at the Perry Street home of his mother in Struthers. Prosecutors say Crump and two other men, Kimonie Bryant, 26 and Andre McCoy, 22, were there to take money from the boyfriend of Sweeney’s mother that he received from a stimulus check.
Bryant turned himself in hours after the shooting and has been in the county jail since then. He was indicted in October 2020. McCoy was indicted in March 2021 in a superseding indictment, but he was not arrested until January. He was shot in the head during the same shooting that killed Sweeney. Prosecutors have not said if he was wounded on purpose or by accident.
Crump was taken into custody in November 2020 and charged with aggravated robbery in juvenile court. That charge was bound over to common pleas court following a hearing, but he was indicted by a grand jury on the aggravated murder and other charges without a hearing.
Under Ohio law, a juvenile suspect must have the opportunity to have a hearing to determine if his case should be heard by an adult court, and because Crump never had that hearing, those charges were sent back to juvenile court.
Prosecutors have said they wanted to try Crump’s case first.
McCoy’s trial is tentatively set for Sept. 5 and Bryant’s for Sept. 11. However, Bryant’s trial will probably have to be pushed back if McCoy’s or Crump’s case goes forward first.
If convicted, Crump faces life in prison while Bryant and McCoy could face the death penalty.
