2003 KILLING Man admits a role in killling

Latrell Jackson agreed to testify against two other suspects.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Hilton Avenue man admitted in court Wednesday that he had a hand in killing a teenage boy who was apparently helping him kidnap and rob an Aurora Drive couple last summer.
Latrell Jackson, 21, pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to involuntary manslaughter, a firearm specification, and two counts each of kidnapping and aggravated robbery. The involuntary manslaughter charge was reduced from murder.
Assistant Prosecutor Robert Andrews recommended that Jackson get a total of 13 years in prison when he is sentenced by visiting Judge Charles J. Bannon.
If Jackson were convicted of all the original charges, he would have faced 58 years to life in prison, said defense attorney Mark Lavelle.
Andrews and Lavelle said Jackson will probably not be sentenced until after he testifies against Odis Simmons, 19, of Hudson Avenue, and Terry D. Rozier, 28, of Woodford Avenue. Simmons and Rozier are charged as Jackson's accomplices and are awaiting trial on charges identical to Jackson's, including murder.
Will testify against others
Jackson agreed to testify against the others as part of his plea bargain. He met behind closed doors Wednesday with Andrews, Lavelle and court stenographer Diane Kerchofer, and gave a statement about the night 17-year-old William Lee of East Dewey Avenue was shot and killed.
Police have said Jackson, Rozier, Simmons and Lee conspired to rob the Aurora Drive couple July 27, 2003. They are accused of robbing the man of $400, then demanding that he give them more money.
While Rozier stayed behind to guard the man's wife, who was tied up in a house on Woodford, the other three put the man in his own car and took him to get money, police say. Along the way, the victim struggled with Jackson for a gun and the weapon fired, striking Lee in the abdomen, police say.
Since Lee was killed during a robbery, the others were charged with his murder even though police believe he was their accomplice.
bjackson@vindy.com