Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20

Thread: Ashford Lamar Thompson - Ohio Death Row

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534

    Ashford Lamar Thompson - Ohio Death Row


    Twinsburg Police Officer Joshua Miktarian





    Summary of Offense:

    The man convicted of killing Twinsburg Police Officer Joshua Miktarian during a routine traffic stop in July of 2008 was sentenced to death by a Summit County judge. Though she had the option of reducing his sentence to life in prison, Judge Elinore Stormer went along with the jury's recommendation for Ashford Thompson, then 25. The official sentencing came less than two weeks after the jury, needing only three hours of deliberation, recommended Thompson get the death penalty. Two of the nine charges for which he was convicted carried with them death penalty and firearm specifications. In a tearful statement to the Miktarian family, Thompson admitted he fired the shots that killed the officer during a traffic stop in the predawn hours of July 13, 2008, because of loud music coming from Thompson's car. Within two minutes of the stop, a neighbor called 911 saying she heard popping noises outside. Officer Miktarian was shot once through the forehead and three more times through the side of his head as he lay unresponsive on the ground. Thompson was arrested at his sister's Bedford Heights home a short time later, still wearing Officer Miktarian's handcuffs on one of his wrists. The gun he used was on the top of a stove in the residence.

    Thompson was sentenced to death on June 23, 2010.

  2. #2
    Guest
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    5,534
    June 23, 2010

    Cop Killer Ashford Thompson Sentenced to Death

    AKRON, Ohio - The man convicted of killing Twinsburg Police Officer Joshua Miktarian during a routine traffic stop in July of 2008 was sentenced to death by a Summit County judge Wednesday morning, Fox 8 News reports.

    Though she had the option of reducing his sentence to life in prison, Judge Elinore Stormer went along with the jury's recommendation for Ashford Thompson, 25.

    The official sentencing comes less than two weeks after the jury, needing only three hours of deliberation, recommended Thompson get the death penalty. Two of the nine charges for which he was convicted carried with them death penalty and firearm specifications.

    The judge set Thompson's date of execution for exactly one year from the date of sentencing. That date may, however, get pushed back depending on the appellate process.

    Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh issued a statement saying, "Ashford Thompson is a cold blooded murderer who showed no remorse for killing Officer Miktarian. The death penalty is reserved for the worst crimes upon society. This horrible crime fits that description. Today's sentence demonstrates to the men and women in uniform who protect us that the justice system works for them, too.

    "Over a week ago at the mitigation hearing Ashford Thompson had a dozen witnesses testify to his character. It was Ashford Thompson's day. Today is a day for the Miktarian family. I respect them for the grace and courage they have shown throughout this process and hope that as they put the pieces back together again, they know that the citizens of Summit County will not forget their sacrifice."

    In a tearful statement to the Miktarian family earlier this month, Thompson admitted he fired the shots that killed the officer during a traffic stop in the predawn hours of July 13, 2008, because of loud music coming from Thompson's car.

    Within two minutes of the stop, a neighbor called 911 saying she heard popping noises outside.

    Officer Miktarian was shot once through the forehead and three more times through the side of his head as he laid unresponsive on the ground.

    Thompson was arrested at his sister's Bedford Heights home a short time later, still wearing Officer Miktarian's handcuffs on one of his wrists. The gun he used was on the top of a stove in the residence.

    During his murder trial, Thompson never denied firing the shots. His best explanation came when, in an unsworn statement from the witness stand, he told the jury that he could not understand why the officer seemed to be so aggressive during a stop over loud music, and when he saw Officer Miktarian reach for something on his utility belt, he believed the officer was reaching for his gun.

    Thompson, who had a concealed-carry license, had a loaded gun of his own, which he drew and fired. Thompson admitted, however, that he never announced to Officer Miktarian that he had the gun, which the law requires him to do.

  3. #3
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Thompson granted stay of execution

    The Supreme Court of Ohio granted a stay of execution for Ashford Lamar Thompson, 26, convicted of aggravated murder in the June 2010 shooting death of Twinsburg Police Officer Joshua Miktarian.

    Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor granted the stay of execution Jan. 10, pending the final disposition of his initial, mandatory appeal. The initial appeal was filed by Thompson Aug. 6, 2010, and the execution was scheduled for June 23, 2011.

    "Thompson has a right to a direct appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court ... [and] a right of direct review from a sentence of death," according to a memorandum filed by state public defenders Kimberly Rigby and Rachel Troutman Dec. 14, 2010.

    Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer sentenced Thompson to death June 23, 2010, nearly 3 weeks after a 12-member jury found him guilty of 2 counts of aggravated murder, 1 count of escape, 2 counts of resisting arrest, 3 counts of tampering with evidence and 1 count of carrying a concealed weapon.

    Thompson shot Miktarian four times at close range following a traffic stop for loud music and suspicion of OVI July 13, 2008.

    According to the Ohio Public Defender's Office, a defendant always receives an automatic appeal, which goes straight the Ohio Supreme Court. The appeal cannot be waived by the defendant.

    During an appeal, the court must determine if the sentence was valid or if it should be overturned.

    If the Ohio Supreme Court upholds Stormer's sentence, Thompson has the right to file for additional appeals with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, but he is not required to do so.

    (Source: The Tallmadge Express)

    Case announcement here

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    In today's Ohio Supreme Court opinions, the court granted Thompson's amended motion for stay of the execution scheduled for April 5, 2017. The court further ordered that the stay will remain in effect until all state postconviction proceedings are exhausted.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  5. #5
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Related

    Sister, ex-girlfriend of officer's murderer post bond

    The sister and ex-girlfriend of convicted murderer Ashford Thompson have posted bond and been released from jail after pleading not guilty May 2 to multiple counts of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence related to Twinsburg Police Officer Joshua Miktarian’s 2008 murder.

    Thompson’s ex-girlfriend, Danielle Roberson, 26, of Akron, posted bond this morning, while Thompson’s sister, Bridget Robinson, 36, of Solon, posted bond May 2. Both paid $5,000 up front, 10 percent of their $50,000 bonds.

    Robinson’s attorney, Mack Fernando, said he expects a pre-trial hearing to be scheduled for his client in the next couple of weeks.

    “The first step is to find out what specifically the prosecution is alleging and go from there,” he said May 2.

    The nine count indictment issued April 30 shows Robinson is charged with two counts of obstructing justice, third-degree felonies; two counts of attempted tampering with evidence, fourth-degree felonies; and two counts of attempted obstructing justice, also fourth-degree felonies.

    Roberson is charged with two counts of obstructing justice and one count of tampering with evidence.

    The two were arrested around noon May 1 by the U.S. Marshals of Northern Ohio’s Violent Fugitive Task Force.

    Roberson was a passenger in Thompson’s vehicle just before 2 a.m. on July 13, 2008, when Miktarian pulled Thompson over for loud music and suspicion of OVI, in the driveway of Thompson’s Glenwood Drive home off Route 91.

    A struggle ensued when Thompson exited his vehicle following the stop, and Thompson ultimately shot Miktarian with a 9mm handgun at least four times in the head at close range.

    Miktarian never unholstered his own sidearm, according to trial testimony. The officer’s Taser was found at the scene, removed from his utility belt but not discharged.

    According to her own trial testimony in June 2010, Roberson also exited the vehicle when Miktarian allegedly shoved Thompson on to the hood of his vehicle.

    After the shooting, both Thompson and Roberson fled to Robinson’s then-residence in Bedford Heights, where area officers located Thompson in the kitchen and arrested him after a struggle, a set of Miktarian’s handcuffs still attached to one of Thompson’s wrists.

    According to the April 30 indictment, prosecutors allege that Robinson tried to assist Thompson in removing Miktarian’s handcuff with a black metal comb and Vaseline.

    The murder weapon — a 9mm handgun — was found in the stove in the kitchen, after it was reportedly moved there from under laundry on a couch by Robinson, according to trial testimony. Roberson allegedly moved the gun from the center console of the car to the couch, according to testimony.

    Thompson was sentenced to death following his capital murder trial in June 2010. He is currently on death row at Chillicothe Correctional Institution and has exhausted one mandatory appeal.

    http://www.twinsburgbulletin.com/news/article/5185813
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Ohio Supreme Court postpones execution date for Ashford Thompson in 2008 shooting death of Twinsburg police officer

    The Ohio Supreme Court agreed Feb. 23 to postpone an initial execution date for the man convicted in the 2008 shooting death of a Twinsburg police officer.

    The routine stay notice gives Ashford Thompson time to work through the appeals process, as is standard in such death penalty cases.

    Thompson was found guilty in 2010 of two counts of aggravated murder after shooting 33-year-old Joshua Miktarian multiple times in the head during a late-night traffic stop.

    During oral arguments before the state’s high court last year, legal counsel for Thompson said his death sentence should be overturned due legal and procedural errors made during his trial, among other issues.

    His legal counsel also argued that Thompson was a home health-care nurse and religious man who had no other convictions for violent crimes and who did not set out to commit murder.

    Prosecutors, however, cited threatening comments made by Thompson at a bar before the shooting and other evidence in seeking affirmation of his death sentence.

    The Ohio Supreme Court upheld Thompson’s death sentence in a 4-3 decision in October, with a majority of justices agreeing that the legal process instituting a death sentence was conducted in proper order, and the penalty was appropriate for the crime.

    The state’s high court set an April 2017 execution in the case, though that date was expected to be postponed, as Thompson worked through the appeals process.

    Justices agreed Feb. 23 to stay the execution date “until exhaustion of all state post-conviction proceedings, including an appeals,” according to documents.

    http://www.auroraadvocate.com/latest...shooting-death
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #7
    Moderator Ryan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Newport, United Kingdom
    Posts
    2,454
    As per the ODRC, Thompson has an execution date of April 5, 2017.

  8. #8
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Thompson's petition for certiorari.

    Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Ohio
    Case Nos.: (2010-1373)
    Decision Date: October 29, 2014
    Rehearing Denied: January 28, 2015

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/search.a...s/14-10009.htm

  9. #9
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Twinsburg cop killer's appeal

    Less than a year after the Ohio Supreme Court by a 4-3 vote upheld Ashford Lamar Thompson’s death sentence in the July 2008 murder of a Twinsburg police officer, the U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear Thompson’s appeal Oct. 5.

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Oct. 29, 2014, affirmed Thompson’s death sentence, after he was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 13, 2008, shooting death of 33-year-old Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian following a late-night traffic stop.

    The U.S. Supreme Court denied Thompson's petition for writ of certiorari, essentially allowing the Ohio Supreme Court's decision to stand.

    To appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, one applies for a writ of certiorari, which the high court may grant at its discretion and only when at least three members believe that the case involves a sufficiently significant federal question in the public interest. By denying such a writ, the Supreme Court says it will let the lower court decision stand.

    An execution date has not been set.

    Thompson's legal counsel, Rachel Troutman, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

    Summit County assistant prosecutor Richard S. Kasay did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

    Thompson was found guilty by a Summit County Court of Common Pleas jury June 11, 2010, of two counts of aggravated murder, one count of escape, two counts of resisting arrest, three counts of tampering with evidence and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in the murder of the 11-year Twinsburg officer and Tallmadge resident.

    The death sentence was handed down by Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer June 23, 2010, and Thompson filed for appeal July 26, 2011.

    The state filed a response brief Dec. 12, 2011, summarily rejecting each of the 18 counts in Thompson’s appeal and concluding that the death penalty, among others, must be affirmed by the state’s high court.

    Thompson’s execution was stayed by the state trial court Aug. 23, 2013, to await the appeal decision by the Ohio Supreme Court, which heard Thompson’s appeal of his death sentence April 8, 2014.

    During oral arguments before the state’s high court in 2014, legal counsel for Thompson said his death sentence should be overturned due legal and procedural errors made during his trial, among other issues.

    Prosecutors, however, cited comments made by Thompson at a bar before the shooting and other evidence in seeking affirmation of his death sentence.

    In her decision, Justice Judith L. French wrote that the legal process instituting a death sentence was conducted in proper order, and the penalty was appropriate for the crime.

    French ruled that the intentional way that Thompson shot Miktarian outweighed the offender’s arguments for mercy.

    “The nature and circumstances of the crime do not support Thompson’s claims of panic,” French wrote.

    In a dissent, Justice William O’Neill said evidence showed Thompson was confused and frightened after he was pulled over and mistakenly believed the officer was going to attack him.

    Thompson, 31, remains on death row at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution, more than seven after shooting and killing Miktarian.

    http://www.twinsburgbulletin.com/new...-supreme-court

  10. #10
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    33,217
    Related

    Women sentenced in connection with Twinsburg officer's death

    Two women have been sentenced for their role in attempting to help the man who shot and killed a Twinsburg police officer in 2008.

    The girlfriend of Ashford Thompson, Danielle Roberson, has been sentenced to six months house arrest and given two years probation. She was with Thompson the night of July 13, 2008 when he shot Officer Josh Miktarian to death with the officer's gun after being pulled over for loud music.

    The two then fled to Thompson's sister's home in Bedford Heights where Roberson attempted to remove the handcuffs Miktarian had placed on Thompson and the sister, Bridget Robinson, tampered with the gun used in the shooting. Both also lied to police regarding Thompson.

    The sister, Bridget Robinson, has been sentenced to two years probation.

    Roberson and Robinson were arrested on May 1, 2012. They each pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice in January.

    Ashford Thompson was convicted in 2010 and is currently on death row for the murder of Officer Miktarian. He is appealing.

    Officer Miktarian left behind a wife and an infant daughter at the time of his death. His wife, Holly, a former Oakwood police officer addressed the court before sentencing for Roberson and Robinson.

    In a tearful statement in a courtroom filled with fellow-officers, she detailed how the women's actions destroyed both her life and that of her daughter. Speaking of Danielle Roberson she said: "Ultimately I blame you for distracting my husband. he was in the middle of an arrest doing his job. You got out of that car and you distracted him. That is how Ashford Thompson was able to shoot his gun. I solely blame you and believe with all my heart that you are the reason my husband missed Ashford going for his gun."

    Miktarian told the court she also blamed Roberson for not attempting to help her husband after he was shot.

    Roberson apologized in court and offered condolences to Miktarian. Turning to speak directly to her she said, "If I could back and change that night, I would. But I had nothing to do with it and I'm sorry it happened."

    After the sentencing, Miktarian told the media she didn't accept Roberson's apology. She also said she was satisfied with the sentence. "It was important for me ... for the public to see no matter what part you play in the murder of a human being or a police officer, it's not going to be taken lightly."

    http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/282...fficers-death-
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •