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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County judge has ruled in favor of a joint trial for two people facing murder charges in the fatal shooting of two people inside an Altoona residence on May 28, 2020.
Onya Lewis, 33, Gallitzin, who faces second-degree murder and related charges, asked Judge Timothy M. Sullivan in late January for her own jury trial, maintaining that she will be prejudiced if tried with co-defendant Isiah "Zay" Payne, 33, of Philadelphia, who faces first-degree murder and possibly the death penalty if convicted.
Sullivan, in a recent ruling filed in the prothonotary's office, turned down Lewis' request and said her concerns can be addressed with cautionary instructions to the jurors during a joint trial.
"We believe that any jury selected will be capable of separating the evidence so there is no danger of confusion," Sullivan said.
Chief Public Defender Russ Montgomery, who represents Lewis, argued in January in favor of a separate trial, pointing out that her fate shouldn't rest with jurors willing to impose the death penalty if they convict Payne.
Sullivan relied on a 1987 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Buchanan v. Kennedy, to decide against Lewis' request. The majority of the justices found no constitutional violations involving "the use of a death-qualified jury for a joint trial in which the death penalty was sought only against one co-defendant."
Part of the reasoning behind that high court ruling, Sullivan pointed out, was that the conduct of the co-defendants arose from the same events.
In the Blair County case, Sullivan said, "There is no dispute that defendant Lewis and defendant Payne are alleged to have participated in the same series of acts or transitions constituting the criminal offenses."
Altoona police -- who charged Lewis with second-degree murder in the deaths of Natalie Washington, 52, of Altoona, and Mikal Jackson-Stevenson, 28, of Philadelphia -- identified Lewis as the person who gave Payne a ride to the area near Washington's residence on the 2600 block of Beale Avenue in the hours before the pair were found dead inside Washington's residence. Police also said Lewis later picked up Payne after he exited the residence and drove away.
Police accused Payne of shooting both Washington and Jackson-Stevenson in a drug-selling dispute, based on statements they took from Payne and from Lewis.
Payne, who is represented by defense attorney Richard Corcoran, recently asked the court for permission to represent himself in a document filled with pretrial motions.
Sullivan denied Payne's requests and affirmed that Corcoran remains his attorney. In a Feb. 8 order, the judge also named Ebensburg attorney Timothy M. Burns as Payne's co-counsel for death penalty representation.
In his pretrial motions, Payne spoke of what could be a possible self-defense strategy at trial and asked that the word "victim" be barred from use. Payne allegedly told Altoona police officers that he suspected that he was being set up when he went to Washington's house.
Cocoran, in late 2020, filed pretrial motions on Payne's behalf. In response, Sullivan signed an August 2021 order providing $2,500 as an initial retainer for the defense to hire an investigator. The judge also authorized $25,000 for the hiring of defense mitigation specialist as required in a death penalty case.
No trial date has been set so far, but a status conference is scheduled for March 3.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay
Stephens is at 814-946-7456.