MAHONING COUNTY Killer gets 13 years in prison for friend's death

The two men had lived in the same house for two years before the shooting.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- John Deiley was a gentle and religious man who enjoyed reading the Bible and quoting its passages, his brother said.
But Raymond Crites said he shot and killed Deiley because he feared Deiley was going to hurt him, or worse, even though they were friends.
"I was in fear for my life," said Crites, 30, of Austintown. "I never meant to hurt him. I never meant to hurt nobody, ever."
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court put Crites in prison for 13 years Thursday. That's one year longer than was recommended by the prosecutor's office when Crites pleaded guilty in April to the voluntary manslaughter of Deiley.
"There is no reason or justification or understanding" for such a killing, the judge said.
Deiley's brother, Roger Bowman of Charleston, W.Va., said Deiley, 33, was a father of three and was engaged to be married. When Crites needed a place to live, Deiley took him in to his house because the two were friends. Bowman said Crites lived with Deiley for two years.
Asked to leave
But in June 2003, Deiley's fiancee caught Crites smoking marijuana in their living room with three young girls and asked him to move out, which Crites did.
When Crites moved out, he took his key to Deiley's house with him, Bowman said. He said Deiley went looking for Crites to get back his house key, and found him at the Steel Street home of a mutual friend.
Bowman said Crites threw the key on the floor and Deiley bent down and picked it up. When Deiley stood up, Crites shot him in the face at point-blank range, without provocation, Bowman said. Deiley was unarmed.
Crites was originally indicted for murder, but the charge was reduced as part of a plea agreement.
Defense attorney Anthony P. Meranto said he believes that if the case had gone to trial, evidence would have shown that Crites was sitting down and that Deiley was standing over him. He said Crites felt threatened, and that the gun went off accidentally.
Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro had recommended a nine-year sentence for the voluntary manslaughter charge, but Judge Krichbaum imposed the maximum penalty of 10 years. He also imposed a mandatory three-year sentence for a firearm specification.
By law, the sentences must be served back-to-back, for a total of 13 years.
bjackson@vindy.com