Man charged in Ethan Liming's death violates house arrest conditions

One of two brothers accused in the death of Ethan Liming had his bond revoked — landing him in jail — and will now be on a more stringent house arrest.

Deshawn Stafford, who was placed on house arrest and GPS monitoring with a few exceptions, violated these restrictions numerous times, including going to Burger King, Acme and an apartment in Cleveland.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O’Brien ordered Stafford arrested April 6 and taken to the Summit County Jail.

Jon Sinn, Stafford’s attorney, requested during a virtual hearing Thursday that Stafford again be released on bond. He said Stafford has been juggling a lot of responsibilities, including working and providing for his family.

“I think he’s learned his lesson,” Sinn said. “He was supposed to comply and he didn’t.”

O’Brien agreed to allow Stafford to return to house arrest with GPS monitoring but said he will now have to remain at his home. If he needs to go to a doctor’s appointment or meet with Sinn, she said, Sinn will have to file a request for this.

“You are not to leave your home pending trial,” O’Brien told Stafford.

If Stafford doesn’t comply with his house arrest, O’Brien said he will immediately be arrested and returned to jail.

Liming dies after pellet gun incident

Deshawn and Tyler Stafford are charged with involuntary manslaughter and other offenses related to Liming’s June 2 death outside Akron’s IPromise School.

Liming and three high school friends drove to IPromise after dark with two gel pellet toy guns, police and defense attorneys say.

They say Liming’s group ambushed a group of young men playing basketball, spraying them with scores of gel pellets. The basketball players initially tried to run but then confronted Liming and his friends.

Liming fell in the parking lot, hitting his head on the asphalt in a blow that proved fatal, autopsy results showed.

More: Ethan Liming died from striking his head on pavement, autopsy concludes

The brothers and Donovon Jones initially were charged with murder but were later indicted on lesser charges.

Jones, 21, of Akron, pleaded no contest to two counts of assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, in October. He received a 180-day suspended jail sentence.

More: Akron man arrested in Ethan Liming slaying gets suspended jail sentence for lesser charges

Deshawn Stafford, 21, of Akron, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, first- and third-degree felonies, aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony, and assault, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Tyler Stafford, 20, of Cleveland, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, and assault, a first-degree misdemeanor. He is free on a $500 bond, with free-range GPS monitoring and pretrial supervision.

More: Judge slashes bonds in Ethan Liming case as new information is revealed

The brothers' attorneys claim they acted in self-defense.

Stafford’s house arrest violations total 55 hours, judge says

Deshawn Stafford’s bond was changed in February to a $2,500 bond, with GPS monitoring and pretrial supervision. He was placed under house arrest, though he was permitted to work and attend appointments with doctors or his attorney.

O’Brien said Stafford had issues with failing to charge his GPS in late February. She said she allowed him to attend a shower for his baby in May, but he had two and a half hours that weren’t accounted for. She said he went to Acme and Burger King in March and failed to attend a pretrial supervision meeting in April when he again went to the store and to Cleveland.

O’Brien said there are about 55 hours in which Stafford wasn’t where he was supposed to be.

Stafford said he had things he needed to do, like getting food for his child and picking up a relative to attend his baby shower.

“That wasn’t part of what I said you were allowed to do,” O’Brien told him.

Assistant Prosecutor Jennie Shuki said she would prefer that Stafford be kept in jail because he hasn’t been able to comply with the terms of his house arrest.

Shuki, though, said having Stafford out of jail will give prosecutors more time before the case must go to trial because of his speedy trial rights..

The trial for both brothers is currently scheduled to start May 1.

Shuki said she may be asking for a delay because prosecutors and all court staff are currently working remotely because of safety concerns related to protests in response to the grand jury’s decision not to indict eight officers in Jayland Walker’s shooting death. She said she currently has no place to talk to witnesses who will be called during the trial.

O’Brien said she would like the trial to go forward as planned. She said she’ll discuss this issue with the attorneys Monday.

“We all know there are some issues we have no control over,” O’Brien said.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Man charged in Ethan Liming's death jailed after violating bond