LISBON — Defense attorneys for Jeno Wall filed a motion to challenge a photo lineup used to identify him, asking the court to bar in-court and out-of-court indentification of him during his upcoming aggravated murder trial.

An evidentiary hearing is now set for 1:20 p.m. Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton regarding the motion.

Charges against Wall, 34, Steubenville, include unclassified felonies of aggravated murder and murder and third-degree felony intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, along with firearm specifications for allegedly using a firearm to cause Robert E. Herron’s death on Sept. 9, 2024 in Wellsville.

The jury trial remains set for 9 a.m. Sept. 23, with a status hearing set for 9:20 a.m. Sept. 5.

In the motion, defense attorneys Charley Kidder and Joe King claimed that Wellsville Police Lt. Marsha Eisenhart showed a photo of the defendant to a witness just prior to his review of the photo lineup, “which by its nature resulted in such unfairness that it infringed the defendant’s right to due process of law.”

According to the motion, “Photographic identifications may be tainted due to the manner in which the photo is presented, the nature of the photograph selected, and the conduct of the officers presenting them to a witness. Special problems arise, not surprisingly, when an individual photograph of the defendant is shown to a witness just before a photo spread is shown to the same individual.”

In the case against Wall, King called the photo lineup “impermissably suggestive” and said “if that’s the case, the state should not be able to use the photo lineup or testimony therefrom in any criminal proceedings.”

Three witnesses have been subpoenaed for the hearing, including Eisenhart.

According to county Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino, Wall could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of aggravated murder. He could face a mandatory three years for each of the two firearm specifications.

For the aggravated murder count, the indictment alleges that Wall “did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death of another, to wit: Robert E. Herron.” The murder count alleges that he purposely caused the death.

Abruzzino said previously that the intimidation charge stemmed from alleged actions by Wall following the shooting.

When the indictment was issued in December, a press release from Abruzzino and Wellsville Police Chief Ed Wilson said officers responded to a call of shots fired on Tenth Street and found Herron, 30, fatally wounded behind a residential garage.

Wall remains jailed under a $1 million cash or surety bond. His request for a reduced bond was denied in May.

In a related matter to the case, a status hearing remains set at 1 p.m. Sept. 25 for Brandon Kessler, 42, 10th Street, Wellsville, who is facing a charge of obstructing justice, a third-degree felony, for allegedly lying to police during the investigation into Herron’s shooting death.

In January, Kessler was indicted for allegedly not being truthful in statements he gave to investigators related to the murder case, according to county Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino. The case is being handled by county Assistant Prosecutors Tammie Riley Jones and Christopher Weeda, who are also handling the case against Wall.

Kessler remains jailed under a $50,000 cash or surety bond.