Darrell Buchanan acquitted of murder in Summit County trial
- Darrell Buchanan of Canton was acquitted of murder and other charges he faced related the shooting death of an Akron man.
- Buchanan will be released after a probation-violation issue is addressed.
- Charges were dropped against a co-defendant in the case after she was found dead.
A Canton man wiped a tear from his one eye Thursday afternoon after hearing that a Summit County jury had found him not guilty of murder and other charges related to the November shooting of an Akron man.
The jury deliberated for about six hours before announcing they had a verdict about 3 p.m.
“We’re pleased with the verdict,” said Noah Munyer, who represented Buchanan with attorney Jacob Will. “We believe justice is served.”
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy O’Brien, who handled the verdict reading for Judge Alison McCarty (who was out of town), said Buchanan will be released from custody for this case.
Munyer said Buchanan has a probation violation related to the murder case that will need to be addressed prior to his release.
The Summit County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the verdict.
Case dropped against co-defendant after she is found dead
Buchanan, 38, from Canton, was arrested in the Nov. 30, 2022, shooting death of Joseph Hall, 38, in the 1300 block of Brandon Avenue in Akron’s Goodyear Heights neighborhood.
Hall was found lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suzanne Thomas, 33, of Canton, was also charged in the case but was never taken into custody. The case against her was dismissed after she was found dead in a Canton Township scrapyard in April. Prosecutors say her death wasn’t tied to Hall’s slaying.
Prosecutors say Buchanan responded to Facebook request
Buchanan’s trial started Monday and wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. Jurors began deliberating at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Prosecutors said Thomas put a message on Facebook last November, saying she needed someone with a gun to go with her to an Akron man’s house to help her with a disagreement over a car. Thomas said she was willing to pay $100 for his service.
Prosecutors said Darrell Buchanan agreed to assist Thomas, but rather than simply scaring Joseph Hall, shot and killed him.
“All the state’s going to ask you to do is to hold Darrell Buchanan accountable for that which he chose to do,” Assistant Prosecutor Dan Sallerson said during his opening statement.
Sallerson said Buchanan admitted that he talked to Thomas using an alias on Facebook and met with her on the morning of the shooting. He said the conversation between Thomas and Buchanan was on Thomas’ phone but not on Buchanan’s.
Defense attorneys, though, said Buchanan, who was partially identified because he has one eye, wasn’t the shooter. They said there are lots of questions that remain unanswered, such as what the disagreement was between Hall and Thomas and the extent of their relationship.
“We think this case might be more about what we don’t know,” said Jacob Will, who is representing Buchanan with attorney Noah Munyer.
Jurors find Buchanan not guilty of all charges
Jurors announced they had a verdict about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
They found Buchanan not guilty of all the charges he faced — two counts of murder and one count each of felonious assault and having a weapon while under disability, a charge that means a person was prohibited from having a firearm because of a prior conviction.
Loved ones of Hall who were in court for the verdict reading declined to discuss the outcome.
Will, Munyer and Buchanan’s family members, were pleased with the result.
“He’s looking forward to returning to his family and to beginning the process of putting his life back together,” Munyer said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached atswarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
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