Judge denies motion to dismiss charges or declare mistrial in Willie Gaddy Jr. murder case

ELYRIA — The murder trial of Willie Gaddy Jr. will resume today after Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Donna Freeman denied a defense request to dismiss the charges or to declare a mistrial against the accused killer. Freeman made her decision after listening to more than an hour of legal arguments Monday morning from defense attorney Joseph Morse and Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Matt Kern. Morse alleged that the Prosecutor's Office failed to turn over evidence that might prove his client didn't kill one man or cause the death of another. Kern denied the allegations. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are required to share evidence and information with each other ahead of trial in a process called discovery. Evidence that might clear a defendant of wrongdoing is called exculpatory evidence. Freeman ruled that while the state may have violated discovery rules, that failure didn't violate Willie Gaddy Jr.'s right to a fair trial, force her to dismiss the case or declare a mistrial. "Is that evidence that was not turned over relevant? Probably relevant. Should it have been turned over? Yes. Could it potentially be exculpatory? Yes," she said. "The point that fails for me is the prejudicial part. I don't find that it is so prejudicial that it is going to cause the defendant not to have a fair trial." Morse first got notice of the questioned evidence Thursday. Freeman said he would have freedom to ask lead Lorain police Detective Kurt Graupmann about it when he cross-examines him today. Freeman granted Morse's request to adjourn for the day just before noon to give him time to prepare his cross-examination. Willie Gaddy Jr., 22, of Lorain, is charged with aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault and firearms specifications in the deaths of his younger brother, Jayzeir Gaddy, 17, and Larry Moore Jr., 21. Jayzeir Gaddy allegedly ambushed Moore outside a barbershop on Tower Boulevard on April 11, 2025. Jayzeir Gaddy shot and wounded Moore with a 9 mm handgun, then was shot in the head with a .45-caliber handgun and killed by a still-unidentified gunman. Willie Gaddy Jr. then allegedly shot and killed Moore as he lay wounded on the pavement, according to testimony in his now week-old trial. His defense is expected to be that he acted in self-defense and/or defense of others during the gunfight. Kern said whoever shot and killed Jayzeir Gaddy with a .45-caliber handgun appeared to have acted in self-defense. He said the only legal question left to answer was whether the person who shot Jayzeir Gaddy was legally allowed to have the gun. Accusing prosecutors of withholding that and evidence of other potential suspects, Morse said prosecutors Kern and Susan Oates engaged in "trial by ambush." He said it was "entirely exculpatory" to understand who had the .45, a bullet from which also struck and wounded Moore. Investigators haven't been able to find that gun, nor have they been able to identify everyone who arrived at the scene with Moore that day. Lorain police interviewed multiple persons of interest, suspects and witnesses and even seized a .45-caliber handgun in July 2025 that might have been connected to a person of interest, who is a juvenile. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tested that Glock handgun against ballistics evidence found at the scene of the shooting. It was not the gun that killed Jayzeir Gaddy, Kern said. The information about that gun wasn't suppressed by the state and wasn't material to the case because it didn't match, Kern argued. "It was probably associated with and was in the hands of someone who arrived with Larry Moore," he said. Kern said testimony by Lorain County Coroner Dr. Frank Miller was that the "most-fatal" bullet that hit Moore was a 9 mm round. The Gaddy brothers each had a 9 mm handgun that day. Evidence was that Jayzeir Gaddy already had been shot and fatally wounded when Willie Gaddy Jr. shot and killed Moore from behind as he was facedown on the pavement. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.