Crime & Safety

Defense Attacks Credibility of Home Invasion Accomplices

Defense Attorney Rufus Sims asked Michael A. Taylor and Seth R. Obermiller why they lied to North Canton police. Both men testified Wednesday against Erick M. Howard, who is accused of joining them in an Aug. 20 home invasion.

The two men found guilty for their involvement in testified against Erick M. Howard Wednesday, saying they lied to police to either save themselves or their friend.

and testified that day in Howard's trial as part of a plea agreement and told Defense Attorney Rufus Sims they weren't truthful when questioned by .

Howard, 20, is accused of breaking into the home of a young North Canton couple, tying them up in their bedroom and robbing them at gunpoint. The grad and two-time Mr. Football recipient also is accused of raping the female victim. He's charged with aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, rape and kidnapping, all carrying a firearm specification. His trial began Monday in Stark County Common Pleas Court.

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Obermiller, 20, broke into the couple's apartment in the 1100 block of Sunford Avenue and helped tie the couple up and rob them. Sims, who had , questioned Obermiller about the lies he told North Canton police.

"You told Detective (Randy) Manse that your gun had a clip on it, didn't you?" Sims asked.

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"Yep," Obermiller answered.

"And you lied then, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"But you're not lying today, are you?"

"Nope," Obermiller said.

Obermiller also had told police that he did have a gun, but it wasn't visible to the couple and he never pointed it at them. That also was a lie, Obermiller said.

Michael A. Taylor, 20, also was untruthful when police questioned him.

"When Detective Manse asked you whose idea it was for this burglary, and you said it was Seth's, was that true?" Sims asked.

"No, it was not," Taylor said. "I was trying to protect Erick."

TAYLOR AND OBERMILLER REMEMBER AUG. 20

Still, both men say Howard was involved in the home invasion. They both told their accounts of Aug. 20, 2011.

Obermiller said he and Howard were high on acid and marijuana when they decided to commit a robbery that night. Questioning whether the acid they had just taken was fake, they first thought they would target the acid dealer. But Obermiller said it was Taylor's idea to rob the North Canton couple. Taylor said he had bought marijuana off the male victim before and knew where he lived.

Obermiller got two ski masks, two pairs of gloves and a 9 mm pistol from his house and got a second gun, a .45-caliber pistol, from Howard's friend Robert "Jamie" Hawkins in Greentown. Hawkins said the gun was unloaded and he kept Howard's cell phone as collatoral until he returned the gun to him.

Then, after meeting up with Taylor, Obermiller said they all stopped at Wal-Mart at The Strip to buy a pair of gloves and duct tape. Obermiller bought the duct tape and Howard went in after to buy the gloves. Assistant County Prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett showed surveillance footage of both Obermiller and Howard buying the items and then leaving the store. She also showed receipts for their purchases that night.

The co-defendants said Obermiller and Howard got into the couple's home by breaking through the basement window. Taylor, who said he originally planned to go into the home with them, said he stayed behind as a lookout.

Taylor said he called Obermiller after he saw police at the apartment next door. They were responding to a call of a suspicious person at the apartments. Obermiller said he and Howard kept quiet for a few minutes until they no longer saw police flashlights outside. Then they walked up to the second floor of the apartment, where they found the couple sleeping in their bed.

Obermiller's account of what occurred in the bedroom is similar to , who spoke in court Tuesday. The men bound the couple's wrists and ankles and taped over their mouths. They used the light from the couple's cellphones to see in the dark room as they searched for money and other valuable items.

The female victim had testified Howard raped her by inserting either his gloved fingers or the tip of the gun into her vagina. Obermiller said he saw movement near the end of the bed by Howard and the female victim, but he never saw Howard rape her.

Obermiller said he left through the back door and Howard the front. By this time Taylor had walked to a nearby laundromat to wait for them. Taylor had taken off his hoody and gloves near the apartment building, and those were later found by the couple and turned in to police, according to testimony.

The victims freed themselves from the duct tape and called 911 from a neighbor's home after the men left.

Obermiller said the they returned the gun and went back to his house to divy up the money they stole, which, according to him, was about $1,200. The couple said they planned to use that cash for a vacation, which they took immediately following the attack.

Obermiller said he didn't notice until later that night that he'd lost a contact lens. It was found by the male victim on the bed.

Sims also asked nearly every witness who testified in the trial how much they think Howard weighs and whether a man of that size could fit through the basement window. Sims made it clear he didn't think a man of Howard's size (he said about 200 pounds) could fit.

The trial, over which Judge Taryn L. Heath is presiding, continues today.


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