Youngstown man pleads guilty to shooting at car

It was the third time the Delaware Avenue man pleaded guilty in the case.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;By BOB JACKSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Just before he was set to take his case before a jury Monday, a city man pleaded guilty to firing at a carload of people in September 2002.
Rodney Carter's plea came three weeks after he pulled out of a nearly identical plea agreement, and it's the third time he has pleaded guilty in the case.
This time, Judge Jack Durkin proceeded immediately to sentencing instead of ordering a presentencing background check. He gave Carter six years in prison.
Carter, 22, of Delaware Avenue, pleaded guilty to three counts of felonious assault and a firearm specification. He was sentenced to three years in prison for each felonious assault count, but those terms will be served concurrently.
Mandatory sentence
The firearm specification carries a mandatory three-year sentence, which by law must be served consecutively to the felonious assault sentence, making a total of six years.
Assistant Prosecutor Gina Arnaut said Carter fired gunshots at a car in which two adults and a baby were riding outside the Six Brothers Drive-Through on Oak Street. The car was hit four times, but no people were hit, Arnaut said.
Carter pleaded guilty twice before, but recanted both times before he could be sentenced.
If Carter had gone to trial and been convicted of all charges, he could have gotten up to 28 years in prison. Defense attorney Anthony P. Meranto said once that sunk in, Carter decided to take the plea and the lesser sentence.
Judicial release
He said Carter will be eligible for judicial release after serving at least 41/2 years of the prison sentence.
Carter was on probation for a previous, unrelated felonious assault charge at the time of the Six Brothers shooting. Judge Durkin reimposed the original three-year prison sentence for that charge, and gave him credit for 558 days he spent in the county jail awaiting trial on that charge.
& lt;a href=mailto:bjackson@vindy.com & gt;bjackson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;