Erick Howard listens, while the verdict is read. (Bob Rossiter, The Canton Repository)
Silent jurors have replaced the cheering fans. A defense attorney is the one running the plays. Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn Heath serves as referee.
But the game is over.
Once the star running back for North Canton Hoover High School and two-time Mr. Football winner, Erick Howard is now a convicted criminal.
A jury found Howard guilty on Thursday of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and rape, with a firearm specification. He faces up to 41 years in prison. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.
“We are not here because of Erick Howard the football star,” said Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Chryssa Hartnett in her opening statement. “We are here because of his actions on the early morning hours on Aug. 20…He simply got caught, just like everyone else.”
In his opening statement, defense attorney Rufus Sims, who also served as an attorney for convicted Cleveland serial killer Anthony Sowell, said he wanted the jury to bring a critical ear to the case and evaluation the credibility of the victims and the witnesses.
“The state’s key witnesses are both convicted felons,” Sims said.
Seth Obermiller, 20, and Michael Taylor, 20, took plea agreements in exchange for their testimony against Howard.
Obermiller testified that in the early morning on Aug. 20, he broke into a townhouse on Sunford Avenue in North Canton with Howard and robbed a young couple at gunpoint. Taylor testified that he was the lookout for the break-in. The male victim was known to sell marijuana out of the house.
The female victim, who is 21-years-old, was the first witness to take the stand. She testified that two, armed men wearing masks broke the house she shares with her boyfriend. The men bound her wrists and ankles with duct tape.
She sobbed while describing the night’s events. She said she recognized Howard’s voice as the robber who raped her with either the end of his gun or his fingers.
She said she couldn’t remember the exact length of time the intruders stayed in her bedroom.
“It felt like hours,” she said.
The victim said about $1,500 in cash was stolen from the house.
“I thought I was safe in my own house,” she said.
On cross-examination, Sims asked her if dealing drugs was a dangerous business, and he asked her if she could tell if the gun used was real or fake.
Throughout the trial, Sims questioned whether Howard was too big to fit through the basement window in the townhouse that the intruders entered through.
“He got through it pretty quick,” Obermiller said.
The prosecution showed security footage from Walmart in Jackson Township. Obermiller testified that he and Howard entered the store to purchase gloves and duct tape, before the robbery. He said he and Howard had taken acid and smoked marijuana that night.
Taylor said that he tried to keep Howard’s name out of the story he originally told police.
“Erick was one of my best friends,” said Taylor. “We grew up together. I didn’t want to sell him out like that.”
Taylor said he warned Howard that the police were getting arrest warrants for them. He said they bought two plane tickets for Florida, but he stayed behind while Howard fled.
“I took the deal,” said Taylor. “I manned up to my mistake. I did it.”
Taylor will serve three years’ probation, after pleading guilty to attempted burglary. Obermiller will serve seven years.
Judge Heath will sentence Howard on Tuesday.
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