C&P News wire
In a dramatic turn in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court today, a jury returned not guilty verdicts on murder charges against 35-year-old Kenneth L. Carter and 23-year-old Terry Hopkins in connection with the January 2025 killing of 42-year-old Resean “Rasean” Graham, but found Carter guilty on a lesser firearms charge.
After initially deliberating more than seven hours on Friday without a decision, jurors reconvened Tuesday and cleared both men of murder and associated gun specifications. However, they convicted Carter of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle — the only count on which a guilty verdict was reached.
Prosecutors told the court that tensions between Carter and the victim had been mounting in the days before the shooting over a dispute about a house the two had jointly owned. According to testimony introduced during the trial, Carter wanted to sell the property while Graham did not, a disagreement over money and control that went unresolved in the days leading up to the killing.
On the evening of January 24, 2025, Carter went to Graham’s home on Griselda Avenue accompanied by Hopkins, prosecutors said. They allege Carter told Graham not to disrespect him and then shot him multiple times inside the residence.
A key witness, Graham’s son, testified that he awoke to footsteps upstairs and then heard gunshots below. He said he recognized Carter’s voice during the incident and later saw Hopkins wearing dark clothing and a partial ski mask.
