Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Amy Corrigall Jones has denied a request for sanctions against Summit County Prosecutors in Eric Hendon’s triple-murder case.
Defense attorneys were asking Jones to dismiss the charges against Hendon, drop the death-penalty specification or bar surviving victim Ronda Blankenship from testifying. They claimed sanctions were warranted because of prosecutors withholding evidence in the case and being uncooperative about information sought from Blankenship. Prosecutors, however, said they have taken the required steps in the case and that the sanctions weren’t warranted.
Jones agreed in a brief order filed Monday.
Jury selection is underway in Hendon’s trial, with testimony expected to start in mid- to late-March.
Eric Hendon and his younger brother, Michael, were charged in the New Year’s Eve 2013 shooting spree at the Barberton home of 42-year-old John Kohler, Blankenship’s boyfriend. Kohler, his stepdaughter, Ashley Carpenter, 18, and her brother, David Carpenter-Kohler, 14, died of gunshot wounds to the head during a home invasion for a stash of marijuana and drug money. Blankenship was stabbed in the cheek and shot in the head, losing her left eye.
Michael Hendon was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated murder and sentenced to life in prison with no parole.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.