Testimony begins in Cremeans trial

ZANESVILLE — Four victims in an April home invasion and kidnapping testified in front of a jury during the opening day of the trial of Randall K. "Bub" Cremeans, one of two suspects in the case.

The Zanesville Police Department alleges Cremeans and co-defendant Christopher M. "BTM" Hendricks broke into a home at 6:13 p.m. April 17 in the 400 block of Mead Street, tied up the residents and held them at gunpoint.

"This isn't a mystery about who did it," assistant prosecuting attorney Ron Welch said in his opening argument. "It's about what was done."

The prosecution is attempting to prove Cremeans entered uninvited, had a gun, tied or assisted in tying up at least one victim, or took property, among other things.

The defense, meanwhile, attempted to show Cremeans' role in the incident was merely to defuse the situation after it got out of hand.

"(Cremeans) went there not with the purpose of committing an offense but to clear his name," defense attorney Kirk McVay said in his opening statement, later adding, "(Cremeans') purpose in everything he did after Christopher Hendricks went crazy were to calm the situation down."

Witness testimonies suggest Hendricks and Cremeans entered a local woman's home where her two children also lived. Four of the woman's friends had already gathered there before Hendricks and Cremeans arrived at the door, according to testimony.

Hendricks and Cremeans were looking for the boyfriend of the woman to settle a dispute over allegedly stolen goods, according to testimony. The defense claimed the woman accused Cremeans of stealing electronics from Hendricks.

After an argument among Hendricks, Cremeans and the woman escalated, the suspects allegedly pulled guns and the four friends were tied up with phone chargers and audio-visual cables and placed against a wall. The woman and her children were put on a couch, according to testimony.

According to witness testimonies, at some point victims had guns pointed at them, their cellphones and IDs were taken from them, and they were threatened with kidnapping or death. But that is where the story opened up.

Each testimony stated Hendricks had a gun. The woman claimed Cremeans also had a gun. One of the friends who testified corroborated that claim, one said she didn't know, and the third said she never saw Cremeans with a gun. Those who claimed to see Cremeans with a gun could said they not specify what it looked like because they said he put it away after raising it in the air.

The woman, who was not tied up, claimed both Cremeans and Hendricks tied up victims, but she could not remember who tied up who. Welch began to press one of the friends on this subject.

"Did (Cremeans) help tie people up?" he said.

"I don't want to do this," the victim said, after which she began crying and Judge Kelly A. Cottrill momentarily halted Welch's questioning. The victim continued, "I think he helped tie one person up."

The victim even identified who that person might have been, but that person failed to recall who tied her up during her testimony shortly thereafter.

The victim who broke down on the stand said: "(Cremeans) is the reason we're all still alive."

Another victim said Cremeans was calm upon entering and tried to keep everyone in the room at ease.

"He never yelled at anybody," she said. "He never pointed a gun at anybody."

Cremeans, 30, pleaded not guilty in May to seven counts of kidnapping, a first-degree felony; five counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; and one count of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony. Firearm specifications are attached to all those charges.

He also pleaded not guilty to a single weapons charge, a third-degree felony.

Hendricks also was indicted in April on identical charges. Hendricks, 23, of 789 Kelton Ave. in Columbus, pleaded not guilty as charged in May and is scheduled for trial Nov. 19.

Cremeans' trial continues at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court.

bparks2@gannett.com

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Twitter: @Bradley_W_Parks