During opening statements the prosecution asked the jury to find Beall guilty of nine different charges he’s facing, which include murder and attempted murder.
NOW: Murder suspect Joshua Beall arrived in court just as opening statements are set to get underway in Montgomery County Common Pleas court @whiotv pic.twitter.com/Abg21mksoy
— Sean Cudahy (@SCudahyWHIO) March 4, 2019
Prosecutors said that Beall led a series of armed robberies throughout the Miami Valley last May before he killed a co-conspirator and fled in a stolen car.
The defense argued that the shooting Donald Armstrong III was self defense and that the victim was on meth and fentanyl at the time and that a gun was found next to him.
The defense team also asked the jury to keep an open mind and listen carefully.
INITIAL REPORT:
The trial of a Fairborn man accused of several Dayton-area crimes, including the deadly shooting of a man on Maryland Avenue last year, is set to begin today.
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Joshua Beall, 30, was indicted on charges of murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, complicity to commit robbery, failure to comply, robbery and several weapons charges in connection to the crimes, according to court records.
Beall’s alleged crime spree that occurred between May 26 and May 31, 2018, includes the following incidents:
- He is accused of shooting and killing Donald E. Armstrong III inside a Dayton apartment on Maryland Avenue
- He's accused in a Huber Heights carjacking of a pizza delivery driver in which the stolen vehicle was later recovered after a high-speed pursuit and crash in the Cincinnati suburb of Sharonville. Beall and Casey Cole, 19, of Seaman, Ohio, were both arrested after the pursuit.
- He's suspected of bank robberies in Franklin, Troy, and Beavercreek, according to previous reports.
Cole, who was arrested along with Beall following the pursuit in Sharonville, was named as a suspect in an Oakwood bank robbery and indicted on a robbery charge in connection to the Oakwood incident.
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Beall has a criminal history dating back to 2007, according to a search of court records.
He was put on probation in Greene County for both a 2007 case involving cocaine, aggravated drug possession and possessing criminal tools and a 2008 identity fraud case.
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Court records indicate he violated his community control in both cases and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Beall also had a 2009 case in Montgomery County accusing him of attempted robbery and possession of criminal tools. He was granted probation and the sentence was to be served concurrently with the Greene County cases.
We will update this story with any new details that emerge from today’s trial.
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