YOUNGSTOWN — Bond was set at $1 million Wednesday in Youngstown Municipal Court for Durrell L. Richardson Jr., 26, who is charged with aggravated murder in the March 2021 shooting death of Damon Irby Jr., 21, and felonious assault in the shooting of an 18-year-old woman with Irby at the time.
Richardson appeared by video from the Mahoning County jail, where he is being housed following his arrest in Atlanta June 19 and his extradition back to Ohio. No plea was required. Attorney Frank Cassese appeared on Richardson’s behalf, and Youngstown Municipal Court Magistrate Meghan Brundege presided over the hearing.
Shaina Rochford, a Youngstown assistant prosecutor, asked the magistrate for a $1 million bond, citing the “serious nature of the offense, coupled with the fact that the defendant was found in Georgia.” She said Richardson is a “flight risk, as well as a danger to the community.”
A no-contact order was issued for the surviving victim.
Richardson was charged with the killing and second shooting in 2021, but authorities only caught up to him last month, according to Youngstown police.
Irby was shot to death about 4:30 p.m. March 5, 2021, while driving a sport-utility vehicle in the 3400 block of Market Street near Auburndale Avenue in the city, according to Vindicator files.
While Irby, of Youngstown, was sitting at a traffic light, a white van approached the driver’s side of his SUV, and then one or more people from the van fired gunshots at Irby Jr., who was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and later pronounced dead.
The FBI Violent Crimes Task Force located Richardson in Atlanta June 19, and the Violent Crimes Task Force Atlanta Division arrested him without incident, according to a Youngstown police news release. Richardson was extradited back to Youngstown Tuesday.
Youngstown police detectives identified Richardson as a suspect in the case early on, a Youngstown police news release states. Lead detective Jerry Fulmer issued warrants for Richardson’s arrest on charges of aggravated murder and felonious assault in April of 2021.
In the news release, the Youngstown Police Department thanked law enforcement officers in Georgia for their work on getting Richardson into custody, as well as “our community who stepped up and provided information, sending the message that the violence must stop.”
The release added, “YPD wants to assure the community that the pursuit of those committing our most violent crimes does not end, and it takes all of us working cooperatively to end the cycle of violence.”
Damon Irby Sr., the victim’s father, was accused of making threats to anyone involved in his son’s death and later was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on convictions of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Irby Sr. appealed the sentence, but a federal appeals court panel rejected his arguments.
He remains in a federal prison with a release date of June 2028, according to federal prison records.
The evening of Irby Jr.’s death, an FBI agent began to monitor the publicly available Facebook page of Damon Irby Sr., of Redondo Road, and saw videos posted there in which Irby Sr. allegedly made threatening statements toward anyone responsible for his son’s death, according to a federal affidavit obtained by the Vindicator.
In one four-minute video, according to an FBI agent, Irby Sr. stated: “Jail ain’t an option. Jail ain’t near an option. The police know they got to kill me. They know what it is. It ain’t an option. You know what I’m saying? The only thing I can do is die from here.” The affidavit mentioned many other threats.
The day after Irby Jr.’s killing, Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Youngstown police Chief Carl Davis and others spoke at a news conference to urge the public to stay calm and not take justice into their own hands.
Irby Sr. was arrested March 9, 2021, and was placed in the Mahoning County jail, seemingly because of the threats. An affidavit filed in federal court described the threats but mainly described a separate alleged offense by Irby Sr. from 2019 that involved him being in possession of a firearm while not allowed because of a previous felony conviction.
The only charges filed against Irby related to the 2019 gun issue. No charges appear to have ever been filed regarding the alleged threats.
Have an interesting story? Contact Ed Runyan by email at erunyan@vindy.com. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @TribToday.