Victim: Titus Jamal Arnold, 23, plus several survivors
Age at time of murder: 16
Crime date: April 13, 2005
Crime location: Springfield
Partner in crime: Jason Dean, 30
Weapon: .40 caliber handgun
Murder method: Shot to the head
Convictions: Complicity in murder, aggravated robbery, discharge of a firearm at a habitation/school, attempted murder, & aggravated murder
Sentence: 56 years to life (sentence may change due to Senate Bill 256)
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the Pickaway Correctional Institution & has a parole hearing in March 2061
Summary
Wade and Dean went on a terrifying crime spree in the spring of 2005, which involved the robbery and murder of Urbana University senior and youth counselor Titus Arnold, along with several other acts of violence. Wade is in prison for life while Dean was sentenced to death and died due to natural causes in 2019. Due to SB 256, Wade may be eligible for parole after 25 years.
Timeline of the Crime Spree
April 10. Dean attempted to rob two people in a mini-mart parking lot. He shot one victim.
April 12. Dean and Wade fired shots at a home. A one-year-old girl and a pregnant woman were just centimeters away from being shot.
April 13. Titus left his job at a home for troubled youth just before midnight. Witnesses saw two men get out of a car, and chase Titus. They saw a man, who they recognized as Wade, shoot at Titus. He was robbed of $6.
Details
Dean found guilty in 2005 murder of youth counselor
SPRINGFIELD — Jason Dean winked and blew kisses at family and friends Thursday as he was found guilty of killing a youth counselor and the attempted murder of a pregnant woman and a child.
Dean, 37, was found guilty of aggravated murder for his role in the 2005 death of Titus Arnold, a youth counselor who was shot in the head and robbed of $6. He was also convicted of 13 other charges including six counts of attempted murder in which a 1-year-old and a pregnant Shanta Chilton were “centimeters close” to being shot, according to witnesses.
The jury of eight women and four men returned the convictions in Clark County Common Pleas Court on Thursday afternoon after deliberating since Tuesday.
The capital murder trial now moves to the penalty phase. Jurors will hear arguments on Monday. Because of the aggravated murder charges, Dean is eligible for the death penalty.
The charges stem from a four-day crime spree involving Dean and Joshua Wade, then 16, whom prosecutors described as Dean’s “sidekick.”
The “crime team,” prosecutors said, murdered Arnold and days earlier committed an armed robbery and terrorized Dibert Avenue residents in a drive-by shooting.
Wade, who fired the shot that killed Arnold and was identified as the gunman in the drive-by shooting, was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for his role in the crimes.
That same year, Dean was convicted and sentenced to death.
The Ohio Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2010, determining Clark County Judge Douglas Rastatter made rulings and statements during the trial that “demonstrated bias against Dean and his attorneys that prevented Dean from receiving a fair trial.”
Prosecutors and Dean’s attorney declined to comment about the verdict. Arnold’s family members also declined to comment.
But Arnold’s mother, Vickie, said in 2010 that Rastatter was more than fair in the first trial.
“I think he got a fair trial the first time,” Arnold said then. “It isn’t fair to our family to put us through that again.”
On Friday, September 30, 2011, Jason Dean was sentenced to death by visiting Judge Summer
Walters. Dean was found guilty by a Clark County jury on September 15, 2011, of 13 charges, including aggravated murder, attempted murder, and aggravated robbery. During the penalty phase of the trial the Jury recommended that the Judge impose a death sentence on the Defendant for the aggravated murder. The Defendant was also found guilty of four counts of weapons under disability by Judge Walters who was sitting by assignment. In addition to the death penalty on the aggravated murder charge, the Judge sentenced Dean to 125 years in prison on the other charges.
After being released from prison on April 1, 2005, the Defendant, Jason Dean, and his codefendant Joshua Wade went on a four-day crime spree that began with the attempted murder and aggravated robbery of two people on the lot of the Selma Road Mini-Mart in Springfield, Ohio on April 10, 2005. On April 12, 2005 Dean and Wade participated in a drive-by shooting on Dibert Avenue where the victims, including a one year old girl, and a pregnant woman, were fired upon while sitting on a porch. The spree ended on April 13, 2005, when Titus Arnold, a youth counselor who was leaving work early to get home to his 9-day-old baby, was shot and killed after being robbed of $6.
On April 21, 2005, the Springfield Police Department executed search warrants on the residences of Jason Dean, and Joshua Wade and arrested both men, along with recovering the murder weapon in Dean’s house.
Dean had previously been convicted of these crimes in 2006, and sentenced to death, but the
conviction was overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2010. Wade, who was a juvenile at the time and was not eligible for the death penalty under Ohio law, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2006.
“The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office is pleased with the sentence,” said Clark County
Prosecutor Andy Wilson. “Twenty-four citizens of our community and two judges have now said that Mr. Dean deserves the death penalty for his role in Titus Arnold’s murder. This is a just sentence and hopefully provides a sense of closure to the Arnold family.”
Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Andy Wilson, along with former Clark County Prosecutor
Stephen A. Schumaker, currently with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, and former Assistant
Prosecutor Darnell E. Carter represented the State of Ohio in the case. Detective Darwin Hicks and Detective Doug Estep were lead investigators for the Springfield Police Department.
Springfield Man’s Convictions and Death Sentence Upheld
Three Shootings in Four Days
It was early on April 10, 2005, when Dean approached Andre Piersoll and Yolanda Lyles while they were sitting in their vehicle in a mini-mart parking lot. Dean tried to sell them some pills. He left and then came back demanding money and shooting at the car. Piersoll was shot in the left arm and was grazed on his right cheek.
Two days later, Dean, 16-year-old Josh Wade, and Dean’s girlfriend drove to Dibert Avenue. Dean’s girlfriend testified that both men were armed and told her they were looking for a house and a car. Shots were fired at one home, and a woman who lived there called 9-1-1. Across the street, at 609 Dibert Ave., several people came out of the residence when they heard the gunfire. Two of them walked to a car on the street to check for damage and discovered several bullet holes, while two others and a child stayed on the porch.
Dean’s car then headed back down the street, and the woman checking the damaged vehicle ran to the house. As the car drove by, shots were fired toward 609 Dibert. Everyone sought cover, and no one was injured by the gunshots.
Dean’s girlfriend stated that Dean and Wade went out the next night to a local bar to rob someone. The pair arrived at the bar near 11:45 p.m. and left a few minutes later. Titus Arnold, who worked at a nearby group home for troubled youth, left his job before midnight. Witnesses reported that two men got out of a car, began chasing Arnold, and shot at him. Arnold was dead when police arrived. The men returned to the car and drove away. Witnesses recognized Wade as the shooter and the driver.
Case History
Dean was indicted on two counts of aggravated murder, six counts of attempted murder, and several other crimes including firearm specifications. The jury convicted Dean on all charges, and the court imposed the death penalty. However, on appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court concluded in 2010 that he had not received a fair trial from an impartial judge, and the Court reversed the decision and ordered a new trial.
At that trial, a second jury found Dean guilty on all charges, and he was sentenced to death.
Court’s Analysis
In today’s decision, the Court reviewed and rejected each of the 15 arguments presented in Dean’s appeal.
Writing for the Supreme Court, Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger first reviewed the errors that Dean claimed occurred at trial because of the admission of irrelevant evidence. But given the extensive evidence of Dean’s guilt, the impact of any irrelevant evidence was minimal and did not affect the outcome of the trial, the Court concluded.
Justice Lanzinger also addressed a claim that the jury received an improper instruction about “transferred intent” related to the attempted murders of those who were not injured – Lyles and the four people at 609 Dibert Ave. The jury had asked the court during deliberations whether it mattered if the victims were the intended target.
“We hold that that the doctrine of transferred intent was properly applied to the attempted-murder charges,” Justice Lanzinger wrote. “Attempted murder, like murder, requires a purpose to kill. The victims of the transferred intent are readily identifiable because they were standing on the porch or seated in the front seat of the car. A showing of harm is unnecessary since the ‘intent is what is transferred, not the harm.’ … Thus, we hold that the trial court’s instruction was proper.”
Independent Sentencing Review
As required by statute, the Court also reviewed whether Dean’s death sentence was appropriate and proportional. The Court held that the aggravating circumstance – murdering Arnold as part of a course of conduct – was supported by the evidence and then considered the weight of the mitigating factors.
Because Wade fired the shot that killed Arnold, the Court examined the fact that Dean was an accomplice rather than the principal offender in that murder.
“… Dean’s participation in Arnold’s murder and the attempted murders was extensive,” Justice Lanzinger wrote. “The evidence shows that Dean was 30 years old and Wade was only 16. Dean exercised great influence over Wade and supplied the car and the weapons used in the offenses. Dean also attempted to shoot Arnold before Wade killed him.”
As a result, the Court reasoned that Dean was complicit in the murder and that his role as an accomplice has less weight in mitigation. While acknowledging several other issues, Justice Lanzinger concluded that the mitigating factors were weak compared to the course of conduct involving Arnold’s murder and six attempted murders. The Court held that the death sentence in this case was appropriate and proportional.
Votes
Joining Justice Lanzinger’s majority opinion were Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Terrence O’Donnell, Sharon L. Kennedy, and Judith L. French.
Justice William M. O’Neill concurred in the convictions but dissented on the death sentence for the reasons he stated in a 2013 death-penalty ruling, State v. Wogenstahl. In his dissent in Wogenstahl, Justice O’Neill concluded that the death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
State v. Dean, 146 Ohio St.3d 106, 2015-Ohio-4347.
Trial evidence
{¶ 3} Evidence introduced at trial showed that between April 10 and 14,
2005, Dean shot at two people at a Mini-Mart convenience store, committed a
drive-by shooting, and was responsible for the murder of Titus Arnold.
A. Shooting at the Mini Mart
{¶ 4} The prosecution introduced evidence showing that during the early
morning of April 10, 2005, Andre Piersoll and Yolanda Lyles drove to a Mini Mart.
Lyles parked in front of the Mini Mart. According to Lyles, Dean approached the
car and tried to sell them some pills while she had her money out. Following this conversation, Dean walked over to a two-door car, where a “tall white boy” was
waiting,1 and left.
{¶ 5} Piersoll knew Dean and testified that he first saw him inside the store.
Piersoll got some snacks and returned to the car. According to Piersoll, Dean came
to the car while he and Lyles were eating and talked to him about “some Valiums.”
Piersoll said he did not want to buy them.
{¶ 6} Lyles testified that she and Piersoll remained parked outside the Mini
Mart for another five or ten minutes. While they were talking, Dean came around
the corner of the Mini Mart and approached their car. Dean told Lyles, “Give me
your money,” and started shooting at the car. Several bullets hit the windshield.
Piersoll told Lyles that he had been shot. Lyles then left the parking lot and quickly
drove to Mercy Hospital. Lyles noticed that until she was about a block from the
hospital, the car with the shooter continued to follow them.
{¶ 7} At the hospital, Piersoll was treated for a gunshot wound to the left
arm and an abrasion to the right cheek. A spent .25-caliber bullet was retrieved
from the sleeve of Piersoll’s jacket. Lyles had scratches on her face but did not
require treatment.
{¶ 8} The police recovered two .25-caliber shell casings outside the Mini
Mart. Timothy Duerr, a forensic scientist assigned to the Firearms and Toolmarks
Identification Section of the Miami Valley Crime Laboratory, determined that the
two casings had been fired from the same firearm.
{¶ 9} On April 21, Detective Darwin Hicks prepared a photographic spread
and showed it to Piersoll. Piersoll identified Dean as the person who shot him.
{¶ 10} Crystal Kaboos, Dean’s girlfriend at the time, testified that he
showed her a newspaper article about the Mini Mart shooting. He then said that he was the shooter. Dean told Kaboos that he “ran up on the car and just fired through
the windshield at the person.”
B. Drive-by shooting on Dibert Avenue
{¶ 11} Kaboos testified that on the evening of April 12, 2005, Dean talked
with his brother, Mark Dean, about looking for a car and a house on Dibert Avenue
in Springfield. Later that evening, Dean, Joshua Wade, and Kaboos drove to Dibert
Avenue in Dean’s Buick Riviera. According to Kaboos, Wade was driving, Dean
was in the front passenger seat, and she was in the back seat. Kaboos stated that
Wade was armed with a “black .45” and Dean had a “smaller, silver gun.” Kaboos
asked Dean and Wade what they were doing, and they said that they were “just
looking for a house and a car.”
{¶ 12} Kaboos stated that when they arrived at Dibert Avenue, Wade turned
off the headlights, and they drove down the street. Kaboos saw Dean and Wade
stick their guns out the passenger window and fire several shots. Kaboos closed
her eyes and covered her ears and ducked down in the back seat. She then felt the
car speed up and turn around. But Kaboos stated that that was the last thing she
remembered.
{¶ 13} Laroilyn Byrd testified that she and her sister, Jinada Madison, who
lived at 604 Dibert Street, were in the living room when the shots were fired and
that bullets started flying through the room. The two women took cover, and Byrd
called 9-1-1 to report the shooting. Neither Byrd nor Madison was hit. Byrd then
went outside and saw people come onto the porch at 609 Dibert Avenue, the house
across the street.
{¶ 14} Seven people were inside the home at 609 Dibert. Shani Applin
testified that Devon Williams Sr., his girlfriend, Shanta Chilton, Shanta’s brother,
Hassan Chilton, Applin, and Applin’s young child, JaeAda Applin, were in the front
room watching TV. Shanta’s two young children, Dyier and Samiara, were in bed
inside the house.
{¶ 15} According to Shanta, Williams’s car was parked across from the
house, partially in front of Byrd’s house at 604 Dibert. After hearing the gunfire
and his car alarm go off, Williams and Shanta went outside to look at his car.
Hassan, Applin, and JaeAda went out to the front porch. Williams noticed that his
car had numerous bullet holes in it, particularly near the gas tank.
{¶ 16} Shanta testified that while they were examining Williams’s car, she
noticed a car coming toward them. Shanta ran back to the house. As she got to the
porch, the car stopped in front of the house. Shanta then saw a “white guy” in the
car look at her and start shooting. When the gunfire erupted, everyone on the porch
dove for cover. No one was injured by the gunfire, but Hassan later noticed a bullet
hole in his jacket.
{¶ 17} Williams testified that he had remained by his car, an Oldsmobile,
when the shooting started again. Williams saw a young person shooting at the
house but did not see anyone else in the car. He later identified the shooter as Wade.
{¶ 18} Investigators found five bullet holes in the left rear quarter panel of
the Oldsmobile. In addition, a .25-caliber bullet was recovered from the car’s rear
window trim. Investigators also identified two bullet holes in the living room wall
at 604 Dibert. Neither bullet was recovered.
{¶ 19} Investigators found evidence that four bullets struck the front porch
area at 609 Dibert. Timothy Shepherd, a forensic criminalist with the Springfield
Police Department Crime Laboratory, determined that a bullet recovered from the
front porch pillar was “probably” a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson bullet. Shepherd
also determined that a spent bullet found inside the house was a .40-caliber Smith
& Wesson bullet. However, no comparisons to a weapon could be made because
“much of the striations and actually, the bullet jacket had been removed.”
{¶ 20} Before trial, Dean told Manns that he had been paid to do the driveby shooting. Manns testified that Dean said that he “drove down the street, shot up
the house, turned around at the end of the street, came back and shot at people
coming out of the house; and one of them was holding a baby in his arms that he
almost shot because the bullet actually went through his shirt sleeve.”
C. Murder of Titus Arnold
{¶ 21} Kaboos testified that in early April 2005, she was living with Dean
in his parents’ home on East Liberty Street in Springfield. According to Kaboos,
Dean and Wade would often go out at night and leave her at home. Dean told her
that they went to local bars to “lure people out and rob them of their money.”
{¶ 22} Kaboos testified that on the night after the drive-by shooting, Dean
told her that he and Wade were going to the Nite Owl Tavern to rob someone. She
did not go with them. The tavern’s video surveillance system showed that Dean
and Wade entered the tavern about 11:45 p.m. They left at 11:47 p.m.
{¶ 23} According to Titus Arnold’s coworker, Arnold left his work at
“Visions for Youth,” a group home for troubled youth on West High Street
sometime before midnight on April 13. She said that he was wearing a gold-colored
jacket and carrying a backpack.
{¶ 24} Amrosetta Haile testified that she was driving on West High Street
that night when a speeding car passed her and pulled into a nearby parking lot. She
saw a tall man and a shorter man get out of the car and start chasing a man wearing
a gold coat. She saw the taller man run back to the passenger side of the car, then
saw “two blue flashes,” heard gunshots, and saw the man in the gold coat fall down.
According to Haile, the two men “hovered over the body for a second” and then
ran back to their car and drove away.
{¶ 25} Allison Nawman and her husband, Theador Panstingel, who lived at
the corner of High and Race Streets, heard a shot outside their home at about the
same time. According to Nawman, she looked out the window and saw a man she
thought was about five feet six inches tall standing over a person on the ground.
Nawman and her husband went outside, and she saw that man running down High
Street toward a car. It appeared to her that someone was already in the car because
she saw the brake lights go on. She then saw the man who had been running get
into the car, and the car left.
{¶ 26} About the same time that evening, Terri and Kari Epperson were at
their mother’s home on West High Street. Terri looked out an upstairs window and
noticed that a car had pulled up across the street. She saw a man running down the
street with two men chasing him. Terri then went outside and saw a person get out
of the driver’s side of the car, run halfway down the street, and shoot twice at the
man who was running. When the shooter looked around, Terri recognized him as
her cousin, Josh Wade. Wade returned to the driver’s side of the car and drove
away.
{¶ 27} Kari Epperson also saw the shooting. She heard squealing tires,
looked out the window, and saw a car parked across the street with the driver’s side
door open. Kari then saw a man run down High Street and fire a gun twice. The
shooter turned around, and Kari recognized him as Josh Wade. He returned to the
driver’s side of the car and left. Kari stated that she did not see anyone else with
Wade.
{¶ 28} Shortly after the shooting, police and paramedic units arrived.
Arnold’s body was found near a curb in front of a pickup truck. No money was
found in his clothing or his backpack.
D. Beginning of murder investigation
{¶ 29} Investigators found two .40-caliber shell casings near each other on
West High Street. The closest shell casing was found more than 61 feet from
Arnold’s body. Investigators also found a projectile in the driver’s side door of the
pickup truck near where Arnold’s body was found. A live .25-caliber bullet was
found near the parking lot across the street from where the Eppersons lived.
{¶ 30} Early in the morning of April 14, Dean and Wade went to Mark
Dean’s house. Mark and Kevin Bowshier were there, getting high on cocaine.
According to Bowshier, Dean and Wade “held up a bullet shell and threw it.” Dean
said that they had smoked somebody and robbed him. Bowshier testified: “They
had ran up behind and tackled him, and I know his gun didn’t go off; and then the
kid Josh shot him, shot Titus.” Bowshier recalled that Dean and Wade said they
took less than $10 from the victim.
{¶ 31} Kaboos testified that she overheard Dean and Wade on the morning
of April 15 laughing over a newspaper article about Arnold’s murder. Dean told
her to read the article. According to Kaboos, Dean said that they were driving down
the street and saw an individual walking by himself. They stopped the car, pulled
out their guns, and ordered Arnold to lie on the ground. Arnold started to run, and
Dean tried to shoot him but his gun was on safety. Wade then said he had a bigger
gun and shot Arnold. Dean said they robbed Arnold but got only six dollars.
Kaboos testified that Dean was “bragging with a smirky grin on his face, like [he
was] proud of what they had done.”
{¶ 32} Around the same time, Dean announced that he wanted everyone in
his home to watch a television newscast about the Arnold murder. According to
Kaboos, “Dean was standing there with his arms crossed watching it, and he was
just smiling and laughing about it.”
{¶ 33} Kaboos stated that Dean carried a smaller silver handgun with wood
on the handle and that Wade carried a larger caliber handgun that was originally
Dean’s. Shortly after the murder, Kaboos saw Dean trade the smaller gun for drugs.
{¶ 34} Kaboos testified that shortly after the night of the murder, she ended
her relationship with Dean and left the residence after Dean reunited with his former
girlfriend, Ronda Sions. On April 20, Kaboos contacted the Springfield police and
provided them with information about Arnold’s murder.
E. Dean’s arrest
{¶ 35} On April 21, Springfield police executed a search warrant at Dean’s
residence. Detective Douglas Estep testified that he encountered Dean in the
kitchen. The detective testified that Dean kept looking and smiling in the general
direction of a stand behind him. A handgun was found on the shelf in the stand.
The detective testified that the .40-caliber handgun admitted into evidence appears
to be the gun he saw on the stand.
{¶ 36} During the search, the police found six live .380-caliber rounds in
the pocket of a pair of pants, as well as an empty box of .40-caliber bullets and a
box containing 18 live rounds of ammunition in a bucket in a bedroom closet. In
addition, the police found a title for the Buick Riviera. The back of the title showed
that Dean was the transferee. The car was parked outside Dean’s house.
F. Forensic evidence
{¶ 37} Dr. Robert Stewart, a Clark County deputy coroner, conducted the
autopsy of Arnold. Arnold suffered a gunshot wound in the upper back at the base
of his neck. The bullet cut the spinal cord in half and exited above the right
eyebrow. Stewart stated that the gunshot wound was consistent with the victim
leaning over and running from the assailant. Dr. Stewart determined that this
gunshot wound was the cause of death.
{¶ 38} Timothy Shepherd, the criminalist, examined the two shell casings
found at the murder scene and determined that they had been fired from the .40-
caliber handgun that was found at Dean’s residence. Shepherd also examined a
projectile removed from the pick-up truck near where Arnold’s body was found.
He determined that it was “probably a .40 [Smith & Wesson] caliber bullet * * *
fired from a weapon that had seven lands and grooves with a left-hand twist.”
Shepherd was unable to identify the weapon that fired the bullet because the
projectile was deformed. He testified that the class characteristics of the .40-caliber
handgun found at Dean’s residence was seven lands and grooves with a left-hand
twist.
G. Dean’s correspondence with Sions and Manns
{¶ 39} At trial, Dean’s girlfriend, Ronda Sions, testified that Dean told her
that he and Wade were looking for a man known as O-Z on the night of Arnold’s murder. She said that Dean said they had had a run-in and they had it out for him.
According to Sions, Dean called the murder a case of mistaken identity and said
that they intended to shoot O-Z, not Arnold.
{¶ 40} Sions and Dean exchanged numerous letters while he was in jail.2
In one letter, Dean claimed that his anger and lack of control were the reasons a man
he “never laid eyes on before is in his grave and * * * was shot down like an animal
for no reason other than he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Dean added,
“What’s so sad and it scares me when I think about it is the fact that I don’t care.”
{¶ 41} In another letter, Dean wrote: “I just lost control. I made a lot of
mistakes and I’m gonna have to pay for them. And it is nobody’s fault but my
own.”
{¶ 42} In yet another letter, Dean wrote: “Most of this shit is my fault. If I
hadn’t gotten myself into all of this, none of this shit would be happening.”
{¶ 43} Dean also wrote to Sions: “Try to stay out of trouble. Baby, I don’t
need no more blood on my hands or my conscience.”
{¶ 44} Dean’s letters to Sions also described his close relationship with
Wade. Dean wrote:
That’s some crazy shit you was telling me about Josh is
going to try and say he was scared of me. That’s some bullshit. I
will call so many witnesses to testify that he looked up to me and
that I treated him like a son. I let him wear my clothes, fed him and
Luther, his little brother. I helped his whole family. * * * If he
would just keep his fucking mouth shut, everything would be a lot
better. What he and his people fail to realize is that every time he opens his mouth, he not only hurts me but himself. He is just
digging himself a deeper hole. They got him so scared with this life
without parole bullshit that he will say whatever they want him to
say.
{¶ 45} Manns, a fellow inmate, testified that Dean talked to him about
Arnold’s killing, saying: “He jumped out the car and went to rob him. Titus Arnold
turned to run. He tried to fire his gun. His gun jammed, and Josh Wade jumped
out of the car and shot two shots. One went into a car door, and one went into Titus
Arnold’s head and killed him.”
{¶ 46} Dean also wrote several letters to Manns. In one letter, Dean wrote:
They act like I killed the president. * * * I had one hell of a time.
I know that sounds crazy but you know me. I had a nice ass buick
rivera power everything I had a nice system and everything * * * I
was off the hook, you wouldn’t believe the shit I was doing every
day. I got a lot of good stories to tell you when I get there, I say that
because like I said, it don’t look good for me. * * * It was just me
and my boy Joshua Wade you seen in the paper they got him charged
with the same thing they got me charged with and they are gonna try
him as an adult. I’m really worried about him if you know what I
mean?
{¶ 47} In another letter to Manns, Dean wrote:
You are absolutely right about my situation being hopeless, but
that’s life. I made my choices and I knew the consequences of my
actions. I have lived my life the way I wanted, I have always done what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it and fuck what anybody
had to say about it.
{¶ 48} And in yet another letter to Manns, Dean wrote:
I’m a realist bro, and I know what is in front of me and I’m gonna
face it head on, you understand where I’m coming from? Because
the way the law states is it doesn’t matter if I pulled the trigger or
not, you know that, not to mention the fact that I’m 30 and dude was
16, I’m supposed to be the responsible adult you know.
H. Dean’s phone calls
{¶ 49} The state also played a recording of a telephone call that Dean made
from prison to an unidentified male. During this phone call, Dean states, “They’re
not offering no deal. * * * He’s going for the death penalty, period.” Dean then
says that the reason no deal was being offered was because they had killed a “moon
cricket.”3
Dean also discussed Wade’s involvement in the murder and the strength
of the state’s case, stating: “Man, this chick seen everything. She seen it happen.
They don’t got me at the scene or nothing at that murder. She done pointed the
dude out at the corner (inaudible) and everything.” Dean added: This “witness
came forward and ain’t nothing I can do to help him now. I mean, of course, they
gonna ask me, do you know anything about this. How did you get the murder
weapon in your house * * *. I bought the gun off the street.”
{¶ 50} The state also introduced the transcript of another phone call
between Dean and an unidentified male. In that call, Dean complained about
Wade’s statements to the police and Kaboos, stating that Wade “said all kinds of shit” and “told that girl everything, man,” and “[t]hat’s how that bitch knows
everything ’cause he told her.”
Springfield man on death row dies in prison
A Springfield man who was on death row in connection to the murder of a counselor for troubled youth died in prison.
Jason Dean, 44, who took part in a four-day shooting spree that culminated in the death of Titus Arnold, 23, in April of 2005 died March 23, according to the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
“Jason Dean died at the Franklin Medical Center on March 23, at 6:00 am due to apparent natural causes,” the department said in a statement. “The cause of death is tentative, pending receipt of the death certificate.”
The crime spree in 2005 included three shootings in four days in Springfield. During the last shooting, Arnold was killed by Dean’s accomplice, 16-year-old Josh Wade, after the two chased him through a parking lot as he was leaving his job at a home for at-risk youth.
Wade was tried as an adult but wasn’t eligible for the death penalty as a minor. He was convicted of aggravated murder and other charges and is currently incarcerated at the Warren Correctional Institution.
Dean had two trials. His first conviction in 2006 for aggravated murder, attempted murder and several other crimes was overturned on appeal by the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled he didn’t have a fair and impartial judge. Dean was tried again and found guilty of the same charges and sentenced to death.
Dean’s death came after he had filed numerous appeals including to the Ohio Supreme Court alleging that errors had occurred during his second trial.
The state court rejected all 15 of his arguments. That court also reviewed whether Dean’s sentence was appropriate, given that he didn’t fire the shot that killed Arnold.
In 2016, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by Dean and let stand the Ohio Supreme Court ruling.
Dean didn’t have an execution date set against him and wasn’t likely too anytime soon as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has stayed all executions as the state tries to develop a new protocol for killing inmates.
