MAHONING COUNTY Jury returns guilty verdict

Sabrina Bray faces a mandatory sentence of 18 years to life in prison.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Sentencing will be Wednesday afternoon in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Sabrina Bray, who was convicted of murder Monday.
The verdict was returned after the jury deliberated more than six hours Friday and Monday.
Authorities said Bray, 24, of Park Avenue shot and killed 29-year-old Alyson Buckner over a drug debt in April 2001. Buckner's body was found in an open field on Cloister Avenue on the city's East Side.
"This was a very difficult case," said Jay Macejko, assistant prosecutor. "We're very pleased with this verdict."
The jury declined to convict Bray as the principal offender in the shooting, but did find her guilty of being an accomplice. Defense attorney Dennis DiMartino said jurors believed Bray participated in killing Buckner, but don't believe she acted alone.
DiMartino argued during the trial that a man, Daniel Carter of Youngstown, was actually the person who shot Buckner. Carter testified during the trial that he was there when Buckner was shot, but that Bray did it.
Vouched for woman
Carter said he gave Buckner about $170 worth of crack cocaine even though she didn't have money to pay for it. He did so because Bray vouched for the fact that Buckner would eventually pay him, he said.
When Buckner still had not paid the debt after several months, he said Bray became angry and wanted to kill Buckner. Carter said he drove the two women to the murder site, urging Bray all the while not to kill Buckner.
He said Bray shot Buckner and they left her body in the field, where it was found the next day by a passer-by. Carter has not been charged.
DiMartino said he will appeal the verdict.
Under Ohio law, Judge Jack Durkin must impose a mandatory sentence of life in prison with parole eligibility after she serves at least 15 years. Bray also faces a mandatory three-year sentence for using a firearm.
By law, the firearm sentence must be served before the murder sentence begins.
Before the trial, prosecutors had offered Bray a sentence of 13 years in prison if she would plead guilty to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter, which she declined.
bjackson@vindy.com