Judge gives shooter extra time in prison

Authorities said there was no apparent reason for the January 2002 shooting.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Prosecutors thought seven years was long enough to lock up Terrance Parker for an apparently random shooting that left two men injured last year.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court disagreed, however, and tacked on two more years to the 19-year-old Youngstown man's prison sentence.
Despite Parker's youth, Judge Krichbaum said he had no qualms about sending him to the penitentiary. His only concern was that the seven years recommended as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors was too light a sentence.
"I'm afraid you're a bad guy," Judge Krichbaum told Parker during Friday's sentencing. "Everything I see about you makes that pretty obvious to me."
Pulled a gun
Parker pleaded guilty in April to attempted murder and felonious assault. Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said Parker pulled a gun while hanging out with other men at a house on West Earle Avenue on the city's South Side in January 2002.
Witnesses told police there was no apparent reason for the shooting, in which Paul Henderson and Clifford Anderson were wounded. Anderson was in court for the sentencing but declined to comment.
Pochiro said the men were doing drugs in the house before the shooting, but he didn't know if that caused or contributed to the gunfire.
In exchange for Parker's guilty plea, Pochiro recommended that he be sentenced to a total of seven years in prison.
"That's a fair resolution to this particular matter," said defense attorney Gary Van Brocklin.
It's up to the judge
But under Ohio law, the judge has the final say on sentencing, regardless of what is recommended by the attorneys. Judge Krichbaum struggled with the recommendation and ultimately said he could not go along with it.
"I'm not certain that I shouldn't just lay the wood to you and keep society safe for as long as I can," the judge told Parker.
He sentenced Parker to three years on each count, plus three more years for using a firearm. The terms will be served consecutively.
Parker was a juvenile at the time of the crime, and he was bound over to common pleas court for his case to be handled as an adult. He apologized to the victims and pleaded for a shorter sentence, saying he is concerned about leaving his 1-year-old son behind.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;