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Youngstown officer testifies victim in kidnapping trial showed signs he was beaten

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A city police officer testified Tuesday in the trial of three brothers accused of kidnapping and beating a man last October that the victim had no shirt and shoes on and had cuts and bruises on his torso and face.

Officer Alex Wharry testified that he found the man Oct. 5, 2021, in the drive of a Loveland Road home, and the man told him he had been forced into a car and beaten.

Wharry was the first witness in the cases of Anthony Ellison, 22 and his brothers, Keith and Kyle Ellison, 21, who are going on trial before Judge John Durkin in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges of kidnapping, abduction, aggravated robbery and felonious assault.

A jury was selected Monday, and testimony began Tuesday after opening statements.

Police say the trio forced the man into a car, drove around and beat him, then dropped him off on Loveland Road and beat him again. Police said the man was beaten because he owed the brothers money.

Wharry testified that the man was very excited when he first pulled up, and he did not get the details of what happened until the man calmed down. Wharry said the man told him he was forced into a car and beaten.

Under cross-examination from defense attorney Ron Yarwood, Wharry admitted that his report did not mention anything being taken from the man, but when asked if the man could have gotten into a fight, Wharry said no, that he was forced into the car.

Wharry said officers looked around for the car but could not find it. The brothers turned themselves into police after a warrant was issued for their arrests.

In his opening statement, defense lawyer James Gentile said jurors must find the brothers not guilty because the testimony of prosecution witnesses will not be credible.