Austin Altomare murder case in jury's hands

ELYRIA — Austin Altomare's fate is in the hands of a Lorain County Common Pleas jury after Judge Christopher Rothgery handed the case to jurors Tuesday afternoon. After hearing Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre and defense attorney Anthony Nici give their closing statements, a jury of eight women and four men spent three hours Tuesday deliberating Altomare's innocence or guilt without reaching a verdict. Altomare, 25, is accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend, 23-year-old Cyarah Vince, in their apartment on East 29th Street in Lorain late on the evening of March 26, 2020. The shooting happened after a night of drug use during which Altomare and one of his best friends, Jacob Bosko, got into an argument that ended with gunshots and Vince's death, according to testimony presented during the weeklong trial. Lorain police officers found Altomare standing outside the house, wearing only a pair of pants, with the alleged murder weapon on the ground next to him. Altomare told Lorain police Officer Jamie Ball he had shot Vince, who was found on the couch in the upstairs apartment with a single, fatal gunshot wound to the head. Altomare testified Monday in his own defense, saying he didn't remember how the shooting happened or who shot Vince. That differed from what Altomare told Lorain police nearly 20 times at the scene and during his interrogation the night of her death and the following morning. In his closing statement, Pierre asked jurors to consider Altomare's own words to Lorain police Detective John Dougherty in a police station interview room after Altomare was taken into custody. Sixteen times, Pierre said, a video camera caught Altomare admitting he shot Vince. Altomare never claimed the killing was in self-defense or that it was an accident, Pierre said. Vince was shot once in the forehead from a distance of between 6 inches and 2 feet away. "This was an execution shot," Pierre told jurors. "You may infer his (Altomare's) purpose from the consequences of his actions." As he did in his opening statement a week ago, Nici attacked the Lorain police investigation of the death. The fatal bullet, which police said was fired from Altomare's .40-caliber Glock handgun, was never recovered. "No one can say exactly what caliber bullet killed" Vince, he said. Bosko had brought his 9 mm Springfield handgun to the apartment and testified last week it never left its holster inside his backpack, which he left behind when he fled the house that night. Altomare testified Monday that Bosko brought two guns to his house and that it made both him and Vince uncomfortable and scared. Citing Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller's testimony from Monday, Nici said a bullet from that gun could have made a similar-size wound to that of a .40-caliber bullet or a .38-caliber bullet. "No one can say (Altomare's) gun fired the fatal shot. There is no physical evidence to establish that," Nici told the jury. Or "was there a fourth gun" in the apartment besides the two guns Altomare claimed Bosko brought to his house and Altomare's gun, Nici asked out loud. "Drugs and guns don't mix, but Mr. Bosko brought drugs and guns to my client's home," he said. Nici also criticized Lorain police for failing to obtain gunshot residue tests on Bosko; for not testing Bosko's 9 mm handgun for blood or human tissue; for not collecting Altomare's clothing or Bosko's clothing for testing; for failing to adequately search and then later secure the crime scene so that evidence was later found by members of both Altomare's family and Vince's family; and for not getting his client's medical records so they could test to see if he had been "roofied" or "dosed" with drugs against his will. Detectives were "predisposed to believe they had their man and go home," Nici told the jury. There are "a lot of unknowns" in this case, but Altomare does not know who shot Vince, his attorney said. In rebuttal, Pierre told jurors that anything that points to Altomare's guilt, the defendant "just doesn't remember." He said Altomare has made a "desperate attempt" to avoid responsibility for his actions but still admitted to police that he shot Vince in the head. Pierre then brought jurors back to Altomare's videotaped interview, playing a single moment from it for the courtroom to hear. "All I know is my girlfriend got shot. I f---in' shot her," Altomare could be heard telling Dougherty on the tape. "Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of the day, it's as simple as that," Pierre told the jury. Deliberations resume today. Altomare has pleaded not guilty to a total of eight charges including murder, involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, having weapons under disability and possession of drugs. He is being held in the Lorain County Jail on $1 million bond. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter.