Speedy trial request granted in fatal I-70 shooting case

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

An Ohio teenager -- charged with fatally shooting his uncle in the backseat of a rented minivan rolling along Interstate 70 in Putnam County in early May -- has asked for a speedy trial.

And Putnam Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges has granted that request, setting a jury trial for Oct. 3 in the case of Markus S. Yeanay, 18, Columbus, Ohio.

Markus Yeanay

Yeanay has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony; possession of cocaine, a Level 6 felony; and carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor, in connection with the fatal May 8 shooting of Mario Edwards, 33, also of Columbus, Ohio.

A Level 2 felony is punishable by 10-30 years in prison with 17-1/2 years the advisory sentence. A Level 6 felony carries a sentencing range of 6-30 months, while a Class A misdemeanor can result in a sentence of up to one year.

Joel Wieneke, Yeanay's court-appointed public defender, filed the July 29 request for a speedy trial, which according to Criminal Rule 48, must be granted within 70 days of being requested.

Meanwhile, autopsy results in the case were returned last Friday, Putnam County Prosecutor Timothy Bookwalter said, indicating thee forensic pathologist's report was "pretty simple." It essentially said Edwards died as a result of two bullet wounds in his chest.

Yeanay remains in custody at the Putnam County Jail on $100,000 cash-only bond.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the case, disrespect has emerged as the motive behind the fatal shooting as Yeanay allegedly became so infuriated by arguing and fighting with his uncle that he believed he had no recourse but to shoot him as they rode together in the backseat of a minivan en route from Ohio to St. Louis.

The driver of the car in which Edwards was fatally wounded -- Stefon R. Woods, 21, also of Columbus, Ohio -- told investigators the victim and his nephew had been "arguing about being disrespected by one another."

Woods, who has been charged with aiding a criminal and possession of cocaine in the case, also told authorities that Yeanay and Edwards had been "punching and yelling at each other" off and on in the backseat of the minivan from the time the group had left Ohio earlier that day.

At one point during the alleged argument, Yeanay reportedly told his uncle "that he would kill him," court records state.

However, the fighting and arguing then appeared to settle down, Woods advised, until the 2016 Kia Sedona reached the outskirts of Cloverdale at about 10 p.m. May 8.

Woods said it was then that he heard three gunshots and realized Edwards had been shot.

During his infamous courtroom outburst last May, Yeanay kept hollering that he had been fighting for his life. However, there is no indication in either the police report or probable cause affidavit that the victim had any kind of weapon.

Front-seat passenger Brenda Knight, the victim's mother, told authorities that during a pause in the fighting Yeanay produced a handgun from beneath the rear seat and fired three or four rounds.

According to police reports, Edwards was struck by two bullets, while another round shattered a rear window of the vehicle.

Yeanay reportedly then tossed the gun out through the broken glass. There has been no report of the gun being found.

During his interview with investigators, Yeanay said Edwards had been drinking, and the defendant admitted "smoking some marijuana."

The altercation, the shooting suspect said, was both verbal and physical and reached a point where he "could no longer take Mario Edwards hitting him," and pulled his gun out from beneath the rear seat and fired at his uncle from across the backseat.

It was after that fatal decision that the drama made its way to Putnam County Hospital with Edwards and his mother being dropped off at the emergency room entrance and Woods driving away with Yeanay in the rental car.

Edwards succumbed to his wounds a short time later, while Woods and Yeanay were arrested at about 2 a.m. after ending up in the Walmart parking lot on Greencastle's East Side where their vehicle was spotted by local police officers.

Woods also remains in custody at the county jail on $20,000 cash-only bond.

He was formally charged with assisting a criminal, a Level 5 felony with a sentencing range of 1-6 years in prison, and possession of cocaine, a Level 6 felony punishable by 6-30 months in prison.

At a May 11 initial hearing, not-guilty pleas were entered for both Yeanay and Woods.

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