COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On Monday, the Ohio Supreme Court delayed the scheduled April 5, 2017 execution of Ashford Thompson, 30, of Twinsburg.
In the summer of 2010, he was convicted of aggravated murder in the July 13, 2008 killing of Twinsburg police officer Josh Miktarian by shooting him in the head four times during a traffic stop just before 2 a.m.
On Feb. 11, Thompson asked the court for the appointment of new legal representation -- attorney Angela Wilson Miller, of Jupiter, Fla.
In the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, he also has an appeal pending, stating that he had a "...serious personality disorder at the time of the crime and should have been given a psychological evaluation to determine his competency to stand trial before the capital proceedings began."
Miktarian, 33, who was on the Twinsburg Police Department for 11 years and was a 1993 graduate of Tallmadge High School, was married to Holly Miktarian, a former Oakwood police officer, and they had an infant daughter, Thea.
Miktarian made the traffic stop at the intersection of state Route 91 and Glenwood Drive because of loud music and suspected drunk driving. Thompson, then 23, was the driver and his girlfriend Danielle Roberson was in the passenger seat. They pulled into the driveway of his former home on Glenwood.
Miktarian called for back-up and approached the car. When Miktarian was handcuffing Thompson to place him under arrest, they struggled. Thompson had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and he pulled his gun during the arrest and shot Miktarian four times, according to court testimony.
Miktarian's K-9 partner Bagio was locked in the police cruiser as Miktarian struggled with Thompson. (Afterwards, Bagio was retired from the police department and lived with Miktarian's wife and daughter. He was later diagnosed with cancer and, when complications arose, he was euthanized in April 2011.)
The couple then drove off, leaving Miktarian on the ground. Within two minutes of the traffic stop, a neighbor called 911, saying she heard popping noises outside. Miktarian was shot once through the forehead and three more times through the side of his head as he was lying on the ground.
The couple then drove to Thompson's sister's home in Bedford Heights where Roberson tried but failed to remove the handcuffs Miktarian had placed on Thompson.
Thompson's sister, Bridget Robinson, took the gun from Thompson and put it on the stove. Bedford Heights police arrested Thompson at his sister's home within an hour of the shooting.
Miktarian was taken by Life Flight to MetroHealth Medical Center where he died.
In a related matter, Roberson and Robinson were arrested on May 1, 2012. They each pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice in January 2013. On Feb. 6, 2013, Roberson and Robinson were sentenced for their roles in helping Thompson.
Roberson was sentenced to six months house arrest and given two years probation. Robinson was sentenced to two years of probation. Both also admitted lying to police that night.
