LISBON — Both the prosecution and defense asked for more time in the aggravated murder case against Daniel C. Whitley in the May 2025 shooting death of James Powell, with the jury trial reset for 9 a.m. June 2.

Columbiana County Domestic Relations Magistrate Lynsey Lyle-Opalenik granted the motion for continuance jointly filed by county Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone and defense attorney Thomas Will during a status hearing Monday in Common Pleas Court.

Yacovone said there have been ongoing discussions between himself and Will and they’re working toward a resolution in this case. He said the continuance was necessary to the voluminous amount of materials for discovery, which is the sharing of evidence.

Will said he just received significant discovery and needed to review the material with his client.

A new status hearing is now set for 9:40 p.m. April 13. The case was assigned to Judge Megan Bickerton.

Whitley, 33, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, appeared in the custody of Columbiana County sheriff deputies, accompanied by Will. He’s charged with aggravated murder, murder, two firearm specifications and tampering with evidence.

His trial had been set for next week. He remains jailed under a $1 million cash or surety bond.

Whitley’s case began in county Municipal Court with a single count of murder, then was bound over to the grand jury, which issued the additional charges. During a preliminary hearing in county Municipal Court, testimony from two East Liverpool police officers detailed Whitley’s alleged toxic relationship with the victim, about video evidence of him allegedly saying the victim’s girlfriend, who had children with Whitley, was going to watch the victim die and about gun and bullet evidence.

The charges of aggravated murder and murder are both unclassified felonies, with the aggravated murder carrying a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Each of the firearm specifications carry mandatory three-year prison terms. The tampering with evidence charge is a third-degree felony which carries a possible sentence of up to 36 months in prison.

Whitley was taken into custody the night of the shooting on May 15, 2025 in East Liverpool after being found hiding under the porch of a residence.

The victim, Powell, was 58 years old at the time of his death, found with one gunshot wound to the chest after police were called at 6:25 p.m. to a shooting at the Woodland Hills apartments at Eutaw and Montrose streets. The suspect had allegedly fled in a vehicle and as officers were trying to locate the suspect, they received a tip that he was behind a house on Avondale Street. He was located hiding under a porch and taken into custody without incident at 9:48 p.m. that night.