ROBBERY DEATH Man pleads guilty in shooting

The dead man was taking part in the crimes.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Hudson Avenue man pleaded guilty Monday in the death of a teenage boy who was shot during a kidnapping and robbery last summer.
Prosecutors will recommend a 13-year prison sentence for Odis Simmons, 20, who pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts each of kidnapping and aggravated robbery. He also pleaded guilty to a firearm specification.
The involuntary manslaughter charge was reduced from murder as part of a plea agreement.
Visiting Judge Charles J. Bannon ordered that a background check be done by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority before he sentences Simmons. Under Ohio law, the judge has the final say in sentencing, regardless of the lawyers' recommendation.
If Simmons were convicted of all the original charges, he could have faced nearly 60 years in prison.
Conspired to robbery
Authorities say Simmons was among four men who conspired to rob an Aurora Drive couple July 27, 2003. They are accused of robbing the man of $400, then demanding that he give them more money.
They put the man into his own car and were taking him to get money, police said. Along the way, the man struggled with codefendant Latrell Jackson for a gun and the weapon fired.
A bullet struck 17-year-old William Lee in the abdomen.
Authorities say Lee, of East Dewey Avenue, was helping Simmons and Jackson rob the couple. A fourth man, 28-year-old Terry Rozier of Woodford Avenue, is scheduled for trial June 30 on charges of murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
Not in car
Rozier was not in the car at the time of the shooting. He had stayed behind to guard the Aurora Drive man's wife, who was tied up in a house on Woodford.
Jackson pleaded guilty in April to charges identical to the ones to which Simmons pleaded. Prosecutors have also recommended a 13-year sentence for Jackson, but he has not yet been sentenced.
Since Lee was killed during a robbery, the others were charged with his murder even though police believe he was their accomplice. The Aurora Drive man was not charged because prosecutors said he was defending himself.
bjackson@vindy.com