A Canton man who was charged with murder in connection with a deadly shooting in July will not face prosecution on that charge after a Stark County grand jury declined to indict him.
Amondo T.M. Cole, 28, had been accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Rhion Stanford. The Stark County Prosecutor’s Office announced the grand jury’s decision Wednesday, Sept. 16.
The shooting occurred July 18 at a residence in the 800 block of Garfield Avenue SW.
According to Canton police, officers responded to a report of gunfire around 4:20 a.m. and discovered Stanford in a second-floor bedroom with multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.
Officers provided first aid until Canton Fire Department paramedics arrived. Stanford was transported to Aultman Hospital, where he later died.
During the investigation, detectives located Cole at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for gunshot wounds sustained during the same incident, according to police.
Cole was arrested at the hospital and appeared in Canton Municipal Court on July 24, where he was represented by Stark County public defender Thomas Higgins.
The grand jury’s decision means Cole will not stand trial on the murder charge based on the evidence presented. A decision not to indict does not constitute a finding of guilt or innocence.
