Verdict awaited in trial of Christopher Blue, accused in 2021 killing of Bedford man

A Summit County jury was still deliberating late Friday afternoon in the case of a 19-year-old Akron man accused of killing a Bedford man during a drug deal.

Prosecutors rested their case Thursday against Christopher Blue. His attorneys called no witnesses, and the case went directly to closing arguments after a series of prosecution witnesses offered testimony prosecutors said linked Blue to the 2021 killing of Owen Barzal, 19, in a residential area near the East Avenue/Interstate 77 interchange.

Jury deliberations began Thursday afternoon.

Christopher Blue trial: Trial starts in case of Akronite charged in 2021 shooting death of Bedford man

According to prosecutors, Barzal drove to Akron’s Sherbondy Hill neighborhood on Oct. 12, 2021, to sell marijuana after arranging the deal with Blue via Snapchat.

But instead of making a purchase, prosecutors say Blue killed Barzal, shooting him from the back seat of Barzal’s Jeep on Bernice Street, then fleeing to his home about two houses away around the corner on Russell Avenue.

Blue was arrested later that evening after a nearly six-hour standoff with police, in which Akron SWAT eventually used chemical agents to flush him from the house.

Christopher Blue charged: Akron 18-year-old now charged with murder in death of 19-year-old Bedford resident

Blue was charged with one count of aggravated murder and two counts of murder, all unclassified felonies, first-degree felony aggravated robbery, F-2 felonious assault and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. All of the charges except the tampering with evidence charge include firearms specifications, which carry extra prison time. His case was handled by Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Kelly McLaughlin.

Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett in a March 2022 talk with the Akron Rotary Club, mentioned Blue's arrest as a possible factor in a brief pause in murders across the city.

Mylett told the Beacon Journal that following the arrest, police saw "a reduction in the number of violent incidents in our city for a period of time."

During the three-day trial, one police investigator testified that Blue is a known member of an Akron street gang, but no other testimony related to gang activity was presented.

Experts describe wounds, 911 call that followed shooting

After jury selection on July 7 and the first prosecution witnesses on Monday, the trial was continued to Wednesday, when testimony included graphic details including autopsy photos of injuries Barzal suffered after being shot with a 9 mm Glock semi-automatic pistol.

A body-camera video presented Monday shows Akron police officer Anderson Moss pulling Barzal from the driver's seat of his Jeep. In the video, Barzal's eyes are open and he appears conscious but is unresponsive as police begin cutting away his clothing, applying bandages and ultimately start performing CPR.

On Wednesday, Dr. Robert Shott of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office said Barzal suffered four gunshot wounds, one of which proved fatal, entering his right back and passing through his right lung, liver and heart before exiting his body.

Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Sallerson later told jurors the wounds are what Barzal would have suffered if he had his left hand on the steering wheel while turning to look at someone in the right rear seat of the vehicle to conduct a drug deal.

A recording of the approximately three-minute 911 call Barzal made after being shot was also played Wednesday. In that recording, a dispatcher can be heard asking who is calling, with no response for several dozen seconds. Then Barzal suddenly begins making repeated groaning noises that sound like he is in pain. Eventually, the line goes dead.

Shott said that even though a bullet had passed through the lower part of Barzal's heart, he would have survived and been able to function at a limited level for several minutes.

On cross-examination by defense attorneys, Shott said he could not definitively say whether the assailant had been sitting in the front or the back of Barzal's Jeep.

Prosecutors say investigation points to Christopher Blue as the killer

Prosecution witnesses on Wednesday connected Blue with the murder weapon, along with a cellphone used to arrange a sale of marijuana and to make contact with Barzal just minutes before Barzal called 911 for help.

Police previously testified that after the standoff, they found the pistol had been disassembled, with the various parts hidden in different locations in Blue’s home.

BCI weapons specialist Andrew Chappell said he determined cartridge casings found in Barzal’s Jeep had been fired by the same pistol.

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation forensic scientist Julie Altizer said Blue’s DNA was found on the trigger and trigger guard of the pistol.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Pat Summers noted part of the pistol containing the trigger and trigger guard had been wrapped in sweatpants, and Altizer said it is possible that Blue’s DNA could have been transferred to the gun from the clothing. She also said a second person's DNA was found on the trigger and trigger guard, but there was not enough present to make a profile that could be matched with any individual.

Detective Walter Morris, an Akron Police Department computer forensic specialist, said a cellphone found in the back seat of Barzal’s Jeep belonged to Blue, based on email and social media accounts that had been accessed from the device. He also noted an email address linked to Blue indicated he was a member of the “Young Valley Boys” street gang, and that the department had previously known of his alleged association with that gang.

Police previously testified that Blue had denied having a cellphone and social media accounts.

On prompting from defense attorneys, Morris said it is possible for someone to access Blue’s email and social media accounts if they had the login information. However, prosecutors noted hundreds of emails and Facebook posts to Blue’s accounts had been made from the phone, stating the phone clearly belonged to him.

Final testimony given Thursday

On Thursday, Sgt. Gregory Moenich, who headed the investigation, described the overall crime scene, which extended from Blue’s home on Russell Avenue to Bernice Street, where the shooting took place, to Rosamond Avenue, where Barzal’s Jeep stopped after Barzal fled following the attack.

Moenich also said texts on both Barzal's and Blue's cellphones showed messages describing "a drug deal," with Blue directing Barzal to go to an address on Bernice Street — behind Blue's Russell Avenue home — where a security camera recorded Blue and a 17-year-old shortcutting through the neighbor's driveway about an hour before the shooting.

Police said the 17-year-old was placed at the scene of the shooting at the time of the shooting around 4:30 p.m. by a court-ordered ankle monitor he had been wearing at the time. Police said the teen later cut off the monitor and fled, though he eventually was recaptured and is now in the county juvenile detention center pending trial as an adult on an unrelated charge.

Although he was escorted into the courtroom for a few minutes during a recess on Wednesday, the teen did not testify in Blue's trial.

Akron homicides so far: All of Akron's murders in 2023 have 1 thing in common: Victims were shot

Moenich also said video from the surveillance camera shows Blue with an automatic pistol with an extended magazine hanging out of his pocket.

Moenich said tire marks on Bernice Street led from the scene of the shooting to the corner of Bernice and Rosamond Avenue, where the Jeep ran over a street sign and fire hydrant before coming to a stop on Rosamond.

Items from inside Barzal's Jeep were found on the street along the path, including a package of marijuana edibles identical to some found in a backpack in the Jeep.

Moenich said he has investigated "hundreds" of incidents involving similar shootings, where victims had been shot in their vehicles during drug transactions.

Gun violence in Akron: May shootings highlight challenges Akron authorities face in trying to reduce gun violence

Prosecutors, defense attorney summarize cases

Summers told jurors that no witnesses were presented who had actually seen Blue do the shooting. He also pointed out that a second person's DNA had been found on the pistol.

After McLaughlin cautioned him against accusing the 17-year-old who was with Blue of committing the crime, Summers said that "someone" shot Barzal, but added there was no specific evidence to prove Blue did it.

Regarding Blue's DNA on the pistol, Summers said, "We know that gun sat in some sweatpants for at least 20 hours."

Summers also questioned why detectives had not sent samples taken from Barzal's Jeep's passenger door handles and back seat for DNA testing. Moenich had testified BCI limits the number of samples that can be sent for testing, that samples from door handles are frequently inconclusive and that Blue's DNA was found on the gun.

"This is a murder case," Summers told the jury. "One young man has lost his life and another young man is standing trial, and we don't want to take the time to send (evidence) to the lab?"

Reducing violence in Akron: Murders down in Akron during first half of 2023. What is the city doing to reduce violence?

Sallerson urged the jury to use "common sense" when reviewing the evidence.

He said that to believe anyone else shot Barzal, one would have to believe someone else was using Blue's phone, that Blue gave the pistol to someone else, that the other person gave it back to him after the shooting, and that for some reason Blue thought it reasonable to hide parts of the gun in different parts of his house.

In his concluding remarks, Sallerson stood behind Blue, pointing at the defendant's head and raised his voice to the jury.

"You only see evidence of one person ever having that gun, and that person is Christopher Blue."

Eric Marotta can be reached at emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Verdict awaited Friday in trial of Christopher Blue over 2021 killing