Defendant plans self-defense claim in fatal Youngstown shooting

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A New Philadelphia man charged with a January shooting death on the South Side has filed a notice that he will be arguing at his trial that he acted in self-defense.

Attorneys for Jules Freeman, 22, filed the motion Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Judge Maureen Sweeney.

Freeman was indicted in February by a grand jury on charges of murder, trafficking in cocaine, discharge of a firearm at or near a prohibited premises and felonious assault for the Jan. 22 shooting death of Allen Pierce-May, 23.

He turned himself in to police on Jan 31 and is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 15.

May was killed during a shooting about 1 p.m. on East Evergreen Avenue.

The day before Pierce-May was killed, texts showed the two were planning a drug deal for Jan. 22, according to detectives. They also said Freeman had Pierce-May’s address saved in his Google Maps app.

The texts showed Freeman agreed to drive up to Youngstown on Jan. 22 for an extra $200.

At his preliminary hearing in municipal court, Freeman’s attorneys hinted that he would be pleading self-defense. The lead in the case also testified during the preliminary hearing that when he interviewed Freeman in New Philadelphia, Freeman had told detectives he acted in self-defense.

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