For role in killing, man gets 23 years

The fourth and final suspect is expected to plead guilty soon.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Clemons Higgins said he didn't deserve to be punished for the murder of 24-year-old Steven Skinner Jr. of Warren four years ago.
"Rehabilitation is one thing; maybe I need that," Higgins, 19, said Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. "But punishment shouldn't be on my agenda."
Judge James C. Evans disagreed.
"I do believe punishment is what you deserve. The time for punishment has come," the judge said. He sentenced Higgins to 23 years in a state penitentiary for crimes he called "despicable and heinous."
The scenario
Authorities say Higgins and three others -- Frank Sinkovich, Kateo Patterson and Bobbie Beal -- lured Skinner to a Hilton Avenue house on Youngstown's South Side in May 2000. Once Skinner arrived, they robbed him of $15 and some marijuana.
Skinner was ordered into the trunk of his car, which was driven to a remote location on the city's East Side, doused with gasoline and set on fire with Skinner still inside. His body was not discovered until about a week later.
Higgins told authorities in March that he was supposed to open the trunk and quickly shoot Skinner before the car was set on fire, but the fire was started too soon so he couldn't shoot Skinner.
All of the other defendants have denied shooting Skinner and said he was alive before the fire, but an autopsy report says Skinner apparently had a gunshot wound to his chest.
Higgins pleaded guilty in March to involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and aggravated arson. As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to testify when Beal goes to trial for her alleged role in the killing.
But Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said he expects Beal's case to be resolved soon with a plea agreement, so Higgins' testimony won't be required. The other two suspects are already in prison.
Higgins' sentencing was to be delayed until after his testimony, which was the reason for the long delay between his plea and sentencing.
Other sentences
Patterson, 22, of Arch Street, was convicted at trial of charges including aggravated murder and was sentenced to 66 years to life in prison. Sinkovich, 25, of Bennington Avenue, got a 23-year sentence in April after pleading guilty to reduced charges.
Higgins told Judge Evans he thinks a 23-year sentence is too long for what he did. He admits being present when Skinner was beaten, robbed and burned, but said he was a spectator, not a participant.
He also gave a sworn statement to prosecutors in which he detailed events from the night Skinner was killed. He made the statement the same day of his plea hearing.
"I did that because I wanted you all to know what really happened," Higgins said.
His lawyer, John F. Shultz, said the fact that Higgins was there makes him guilty as an accomplice under Ohio law.
Wild kid
"He was a 15-year-old kid running wild in the streets," Shultz said, noting that Higgins had no family or permanent home and had dropped out of high school at the time. He said Higgins had begun using alcohol and drugs.
"When you mix those components, nothing good happens," Shultz said.
Skinner's mother, Delphine Skinner, called Higgins and the others "little scums" and said they deserved life imprisonment, or even the death penalty, for what they did.
Macejko said Higgins could not have faced the death penalty because he was 15 at the time of the crime. By law, juveniles cannot be charged with the death penalty in Ohio.
bjackson@vindy.com