New attorney, new judge at hearing in 2016 Lorain murder case

ELYRIA — With a new judge and defense attorney appointed, a Kentucky man accused of shooting another man to death in Lorain in 2016 is on his way to having his day in court. Jan. 27, 2020, marks the sixth scheduled trial date in the murder case against 41-year-old Larry Brown, currently making its way through Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Brown is being held in the Lorain County Jail on $600,000 cash bond while facing charges of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in connection with the July 2016 shooting death of Lani Smith, a 66-year-old retired autoworker. Smith was found dead in his West Ninth Street home on July 14, 2016, after Lorain police officers broke in while investigating a report of gunshots. Brown was identified as a suspect and was later found and arrested while seeking treatment for an injury in a Baltimore, Maryland, hospital. He later was returned to Ohio to face charges in Smith's death. There have been multiple delays in bringing the case, now more than three years old, to trial. The case has been set for trial and rescheduled five times at Brown or his attorney's request, Judge Chris Cook said in court Thursday. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office also has seen delays in obtaining evidence. Prosecutors had to wait more than a year, from May 2018 to the present, to receive medical records from the Baltimore hospital where Brown was being treated at the time of his arrest, Assistant Prosecutor Chris Pierre told Cook. Pierre said his office wants to bring the case to trial on behalf of the victim and the victim's family, and said it is important they receive justice. Brown's new attorney, Kreig Brusnahan, said he wanted time to mount a "fully-prepared defense" for his client but also wanted him to have his trial as soon as possible. "I don't want to delay this," he told Cook. Cook said he also was concerned with Brown's chance to defend himself on the charges. "This man deserves to have his day in court," the judge said, adding later: "I want to do the best I can to find a middle ground between the victim and defendant." The next scheduled hearing in the case is set for Oct. 31. During Thursday's hearing, Brown asked Cook for a reduction in his $600,000 cash bond. Cook asked Brusnahan and Pierre to draft arguments over that matter to be presented at another hearing sometime before Oct. 31. The case was transferred to Cook's courtroom earlier this month from Judge James Miraldi's court. Miraldi recused himself from hearing the case after he and Brown's father had contact outside the courtroom, with Miraldi explaining he had forgotten Lawrence Brown might be called as a witness in his son's case and didn't want any appearance of impropriety. Defense attorney Michael Duff also previously withdrew as Brown's counsel. He told the Chronicle-Telegram last month that Brown declined to take his advice and take a plea deal that would have put him in prison for 14 years. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.