YOUNGSTOWN Judge sentences man in shooting case

The man was also sentenced for unrelated drug and weapons charges.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Florida Avenue man will spend six years in prison for a shooting two years ago that left another man wounded.
Lexter Williams Jr., 22, was sentenced Monday by Judge Robert Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He had pleaded guilty in May to felonious assault and a firearm specification.
Judge Lisotto sentenced Williams to three years for the felonious assault charge and imposed a mandatory three-year sentence for the firearm specification. By law, the two sentences must be served consecutively, giving Williams a total of six years.
What happened
Assistant prosecutor Robert Andrews said the charges stemmed from a shooting July 12, 2001, outside a home on Ohio Avenue. After words were exchanged between the victim, Gregory Merchant, and an unidentified woman, Williams interceded and shot Merchant with a shotgun.
Merchant survived, but was not in court for the sentencing. Williams had nothing to say before Judge Lisotto imposed the sentence.
"He wants to get this behind him," said defense attorney Paul Conn. "He's willing to do the time."
Judge Lisotto also sentenced Williams to three years in prison for unrelated charges of cocaine possession, carrying a concealed weapon and illegally possessing a firearm. That sentence was ordered served concurrently with the felonious assault sentence.
Williams had pleaded guilty to all the charges at the same time in May.
bjackson@vindy.com