Man pleads not guilty in murder of 19-year-old

In a pre-trial hearing Tuesday morning, a North Toledo man pleaded not guilty to the May 5 murder of 19-year-old Najaye Owens.

Treshaun Whitlock, 25, of East Weber Street, was found competent to stand trial for the murder of Mr. Owens.

Mr. Owens was found dead in a garage on the 2100 block of Elm Street with gunshot wounds in his head and chest. The following day police arrested Mr. Whitlock, charging him with murder. He was later indicted by a Lucas County grand jury on two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, and one count of having weapons while under disability.

In Tuesday’s pretrial hearing, Mr. Whitlock’s attorney, Jeffrey Crowther, said witness testimony suggested Mr. Whitlock was not responsible for the shooting, and that Mr. Owens might have shot himself.

According to Mr. Crowther, all of the witnesses said Mr. Owens had a gun, and no witnesses reported seeing a struggle between Mr. Whitlock and Mr. Owens.

Mr. Crowther said crucial evidence still had to be collected: namely a DNA test of the gun that killed Mr. Owens and a coroner’s opinion on if Mr. Owens was still alive when the second gunshot entered his chest. Mr. Crowther speculated Mr. Owens had shot himself, likely via accidental discharge.

“I’ve been around guns all my life,” he said. “Guns do weird things.”

Mr. Crowther requested the judge change Mr. Whitlock’s $1.2 million bond based on the lack of witness testimony against Mr. Whitlock. Lucas County Common Pleas court Judge Lori Olender rejected the request, saying there was not enough change in circumstance to justify a change in bond.

Mr. Whitlock’s next pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 1.