On Tuesday, a Warren County judge said it will be up to a grand jury to consider the cases of the two men accused of beating Payne to death during a robbery.
“The country needs to know what occurred in Franklin, Ohio.” Cox said during a press conference outside the Payne family’s home on Dennison Avenue. “These were grown men who took advantage of a 16-year-old boy. They were white and he was African-American. It was a race hate crime.”
However in a prior statement Franklin Police Chief Russ Whitman said there was no evidence that the crime was motivated by race of the victim.
“Rather, all evidence points to the crime being drug-related,” Whitman said. “Any suggestion that this is a “hate crime” or being racially motivated is not based upon actual evidence.”
Michael A. Geldrich, 36, and Michael J. Watson, 39, who are both being held on $1 million bonds, appeared in Franklin Municipal Court on Tuesday evening. After a preliminary hearing, Judge Rupert Ruppert found sufficient evidence to send the cases to a grand jury.
The menare charged with aggravated robbery and murder.
Geldrich and Watson planned the robbery of Dione Payne, 16, of Dayton, who had been staying at Geldrich’s house on Vernon Street, according to a sworn affidavit signed Dec. 2 by Franklin Detective Jeff Stewart.
A few details of that alleged plan emerged during the preliminary hearing when Stewart took the stand.
Watson, known as Jay to friends and family, was living in a shed on Victoria Street when he got a text message during the early morning hours of Dec. 1 from Geldrich, Stewart said.
During questioning by the detective, Watson said Geldrich told him he wanted to “rob this dude who was staying at the house.”
Watson said the original plan was to throw a pillow case over Payne’s head, rob him of his “dope and money” then take him some place and leave him.
That plan changed when Watson asked Geldrich if he really thought Payne would just let him put a pillow case over his head, Stewart said Watson told him.
Watson told Stewart that Geldrich then picked up a table leg at the garage of his Vernon Street residence, went into the house where Payne was asleep sitting up on the couch and hit the teen twice in the face, the detective said.
“He (Watson) heard (Payne) gasp, then he said Geldrich threw him on the floor and continued to assault him.”
Watson said Geldrich did not want Payne to know he was the person who robbed him, so his role was to be the voice in the room asking where the money and drug were. The pillow case was placed over Payne’s head after he was on the floor.
Stewart said Watson did not indicate they got anything from Payne, but Geldrich said they took heroin, cocaine and $250 in cash from Payne.
During cross examination by Watson’s attorney, Stewart said Watson said he did not assault Payne. Stewart also said Watson did not indicate the intention of either plan hatched by the men included an intention to kill Payne.
On Wednesday Payne’s mother Tamiko Payne said hearing the details discussed in court on Tuesday is what conviced her that her son’s death was premeditated and was racially motivated.
“I didn’t want to believe it was a race thing, but as I sat in the courtroom last night and heard how they premeditated to kill my son… it was a hate crime,” she said.
Payne died at Miami Valley Hospital a day after being dumped by the two men around 10:30 a.m. Dec. 1 in the emergency room at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown.
According to Stewart, a preliminary cause of death determined by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office is blunt force trauma.
Cox and Dayton Black Panter Party leader Donald Domineck said Wednesday that this case is representative of a larger issue in Dayton and the surrounding area.
“We have an epidemic of people coming into Dayton from surrounding counties to buy drugs,” Domineck said. He said that situation may have contributed to Payne’s death. “Even if Mr. Payne did put himself in a bad situation, whether he’s white or black, this was a minor who was taken advantage of by two grown males in a very heinous way.”
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