Daniel C. Lloyd

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday for an Allegheny County man charged with homicide in the June 2022 shooting death of an Ohio man whose body was found on the side of a road in Muddy Creek Township. Trial is scheduled to begin Monday.

Daniel C. Lloyd, 21, of Pitcairn, has been charged with homicide in the June 11 death of Frederick Orr of Columbus, Ohio. Orr was 32 years old.

The homicide case against former co-defendant Nicole L. Schwartz, 38, of Ellwood City has been continued, and was severed from Lloyd’s case because she is testifying against him as a cooperating witness.

State police allege Schwartz picked up Orr, who she used to date, after he was released from jail with Lloyd hiding in the back of the vehicle. Lloyd allegedly forced Orr outside on Kelly Road and shot him.

Orr’s body was found around 3:30 a.m. June 11. He died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Lloyd and Schwartz are being held in Butler County Prison without bail.

Lloyd is represented by attorney Joseph Scioscia III, and Schwartz is represented by the public defender’s office.

A key prosecution witness is being extradited from Florida to testify in the trial.

At a pretrial hearing last week, assistant district attorney Ben Simon said Dylan Hinchberger, 30, who he described a vital witness, was in prison in Hillsborough County, Fla., and the sheriff’s office there wasn’t going to release him until his case there is resolved.

Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy McCune didn’t rule on Simon’s motion to delay the trial due to Hinchberger’s unavailability.

Court records indicate Hinchberger was arrested on a fugitive warrant and is being held in Florida on a probation violation stemming from his 2015 conviction on a felony charge of robbery while in possession of a firearm.

District Attorney Richard Goldinger said Tuesday arrangements have been made to transport Hinchberger to the county for the trial.

McCune issued rulings on other motions made at last week’s hearing.

He ordered that arguments on the district attorney’s motion for the jury to look at the vehicle where the alleged shooting took place will be held Wednesday morning before jury selection begins. Simon said the vehicle would be brought to a garage in the courthouse to be viewed.

McCune ruled that he will also hear arguments before jury selection begins about whether to allow prosecution witness Richard Williams to testify that Lloyd openly discussed a desire to murder people and that he constantly listened to death rap music.

He denied defense motions to exclude cellular phone tower evidence about the location of Lloyd’s phone and exclude a recording of a call Lloyd made from prison.

Granted were defense motions to include a record of Hinchberger’s previous criminal convictions, and disclose plea agreements made with prosecution witnesses and Schwartz.

McCune deferred ruling on a defense motion to include evidence about charges pending against prosecution witness Tamika Cottrill.

He deferred ruling on motions to show the jury surveillance video from a gun shop in Verona in Allegheny County purporting to show Lloyd stealing a handgun and include evidence that his fingerprints were recovered from the shop.

McCune granted a prosecution motion to show the jury close-up photos of Orr’s body.

He denied a motion against asking potential jurors about racial bias that the defense and prosecution agreed to. Lloyd and Orr are Black. McCune said the overwhelming majority of potential county jurors are white, and it is appropriate to ask them about race and racial bias.