MERCER COUNTY Convicts will serve prison sentences

Among those sentenced was a woman who assaulted a teacher in front of his class.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Several people were sentenced late this week by Mercer County Common Pleas court judges.
Judge Thomas Dobson sentenced a Sharpsville man Friday to serve 111/2 to 23 months in prison for having unlawful sexual contact with an 11-year-old girl he met in an Internet chatroom.
The judge also ordered Aaron Flowers, 20, of Seneca Road, to be placed on three years' probation after he is released.
Last August, Flowers contacted the girl and arranged to meet her in the parking lot of a Hermitage business. His offense, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, is a felony.
Others sentenced
Several others were also sentenced Friday.
Lamar Gibson, 31, of Bennington Avenue, Youngstown, was ordered to serve six to 24 months concurrent with a sentence imposed in another case in Ohio for leaving the scene of an accident in which the driver of the other vehicle was injured.
Gibson struck another vehicle in the rear Jan. 19, 2001, at Liberty Street and state Route 62, Sharon. He told the other driver he was going to turn his car around, but instead left the scene, court documents say.
Lawrence Johns, 54, of Volant, was sentenced to nine to 18 months, with the last seven months to be served on house arrest, for possession of 29 marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia.
Shawn Johnson, 22, of Stateline Road, Sharon, was sentenced to two to five years in prison for aggravated assault, a felony, for stabbing another man last Nov. 23 at a Farrell bar. He was given 188 days' credit for time served and ordered to make $3,803 restitution.
Michlyn Wilder, 19, of East State Street, Sharon, was sentenced to five days to 15 months for conspiracy to robbery, a felony, for planning and carrying out a purse snatching in the Shenango Valley Mall parking lot, East State Street, Hermitage, with another man and woman.
DUI, armed robberies
A man who caused a fatal accident while driving drunk and two armed robbers were sentenced Thursday.
David Homer, 37, of Orangeville Road, Greenville, will serve consecutive prison terms for causing an accident that killed a woman last August.
Judge Francis Fornelli sentenced Homer to two to four years each for homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault by vehicle while intoxicated, both felonies, and three months to one year for driving under the influence.
Police reports say Homer, who had just left a bar, was driving fast and swerved over the center line on state Route 322, Jamestown, striking a car driven by Rodney Wolf of Jefferson, Ohio.
Wolf was seriously injured and his wife, Deborah, was killed. Homer and his passenger, Helen Homer, 30, also of Orangeville Road, Greenville, also were injured.
John Ramsey, 17, was sentenced to one to three years in the Pine Grove Correctional Facility for robbery, a felony, and two to five years for retail theft, a misdemeanor. He was given credit for 75 days already served.
In March 1999, Ramsey robbed a Marathon Service Station at Exit 2 off Interstate 80 while dressed in camouflage and armed with a .22-caliber rifle. He pointed the weapon at a cashier and demanded money, getting $470 in cash.
In September 2000, he pleaded guilty to retail theft, also a felony, for stealing $346 worth of clothing from Kaufmann's in Hermitage.
Matthew Rossi, 21, of Carrier Road, Transfer, was sentenced to five to 10 years for an Oct. 11, 2001, robbery at the Greenville Last Minit Mart, 62 W. Main St., Greenville.
Rossi, who pointed a handgun at a salesclerk and ordered her to lie on the floor, got $58 and a universal price code scanner. Two co-defendants are already serving prison terms.
Assault on teacher
A Sharpsville mother will serve time in jail for assaulting her daughter's sixth-grade teacher in front of a roomful of pupils at Sharpsville Middle School last year.
Victoria Morrison, 33, of Ridge Avenue, Sharpsville, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Fornelli to four months to one year for assault and two months to one year for disorderly conduct. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.
The assault took place Feb. 23, 2001, in front of a sixth-grade class where Morrison confronted the teacher, Lewis Rosa, 58, over his handling of a matter in which her daughter was caught passing a note.
During the incident, Morrison struck and jabbed Rosa in the chest. Rosa, who had heart surgery, was sensitive in the chest area and has had problems since. Morrison was found guilty by a jury after a trial in January.