Court of appeals backs new trial in 1994 murder

4/7/2001

SANDUSKY - An appeals court has upheld the decision of a lower court to give a new trial to an area man convicted in a 1994 drive-by shooting death.

The jury for Shawn Caston, 34, was prejudiced when his lawyer failed to suppress a videotaped interview with police, the U.S. District Court in Toledo ruled in 1999. This week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati agreed.

Erie County Prosecutor Kevin Baxter has filed a motion seeking a new trial.

Vivian Johnson died in June, 1994, when she was shot in her parked car on East Parish Street. Daryl Turner and DeWitt McDonald also were convicted in Ms. Johnson's death.