Bond to remain same for suspect in fatal shooting

Painesville man accused in death of Harvey High student

Bond for the Painesville man accused in the shooting death of Harvey High School student Yorry Timley will remain $500,000 with a 10 percent cash option.

Christian Falu has been incarcerated since his Oct. 30 arrest on charges of reckless homicide and three counts of tampering with evidence. Falu was 17 at the time of Timley’s Oct. 17 death and he’s spent a majority of his time incarcerated in the Lake County Juvenile Safety Center.

Falu moved to the adult jail on Feb. 1 following Lake County Juvenile Court Judge Karen Lawson’s ruling that he will be tried as an adult on those charges. He turned 18 on Feb. 26.

At the March 4 bond modification hearing, Falu’s attorney Timothy Deeb asked Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge John P. O’Donnell to reduce bond to somewhere in the range of $5,000 to $15,000 with a 10 percent cash option.

Painesville Detective Jason Hughes said at a Jan. 28 hearing that four juveniles (including Falu and Timley) were drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and playing with a handgun to celebrate a birthday at the apartment, where Falu’s cousin lived.

At the hearing, Hughes described a Snapchat video that allegedly showed Falu playing with the gun. Another of the boys, not Timley, was holding a magazine for the gun that he showed on the video. Later that night, the suspect allegedly pointed the gun at Timley’s chest and pulled the trigger. Timley was 16 years old.

“This is something that has been acknowledged not to have been done purposefully,” Deeb said March 4. “Yes, he did flee the scene afterwards, he did take the firearm, (but) he did take the police back to where that was and he cooperated with them to the best of his ability and he’s gone in and discussed this with them on at least two occasions.”

The gun used in the shooting was never recovered. Hughes said that Falu took them to where he hid the gun in the aftermath of the shooting, a grill in the backyard of a home. When he returned with police, the gun was gone. A shell casing that had been thrown into a sewer grate was recovered, Hughes said.

Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Krystal Welsh said the missing gun “is a huge concern.”

“We don’t know where that is, we don’t know who has it, we don’t know what access he plans to get to that, we don’t know,” she said.

Welsh said that Falu had a record as a juvenile. Previous arrests included attempted assault for a fight over a bike, petty theft and carrying a concealed weapon (brass knuckles). He had been off of probation for about two-anda-half months when the shooting occurred.

“We do feel that a high bond is necessary to ensure the safety of the public as well as the guarantee he will show for future hearings,” she said.

Deeb said that Falu is not a flight risk.

“He is Puerto Rican, he does have ties to Puerto Rico, but he doesn’t have the financial means to get there,” Deeb said. “He would be willing to submit his passport if that is something the court insists upon.”

He added that Falu would also be willing to have GPS or house arrest restrictions.

Deeb wrote in a memorandum filed with the court that Falu has significant ties to Lake County, having lived in the area for seven years and has both immediate and extended family in the area.

The hearing lasted only about five minutes before O’Donnell ruled that bond will remain at $500,000.

Falu faces a maximum of 12 years in prison.

Falu