3rd man sentenced in accidental killing



Co-defendants previously were sentenced, each to 13 years in prison.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The third of three men accused of accidentally killing an accomplice during a 2003 robbery was sentenced to prison.
Terry Rozier, 30, of Woodford Avenue, will serve 13 years in prison for the shooting death of 17-year-old William Lee.
Rozier appeared Thursday before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Rozier, 28 at the time of the shooting, Latrell Jackson of Hilton Avenue, 21 at the time of the shooting and Odis Simmons of Hudson Avenue, 19 at the time of the shooting, each were charged with one count of murder and two counts each of kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Jackson and Simmons previously were sentenced to 13 years in prison on those charges.
Rozier, Jackson and Simmons each pleaded guilty to the robbery and kidnapping charges, and the reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year.
Rozier's sentence is a total of 10 years on the manslaughter, robbery and kidnapping counts, which will be served concurrently, Judge Sweeney said. Rozier also received a three-year term for a firearms specification, which is served in addition to the 10-year sentence.
About the original crime
Prosecutors said Lee of East Dewey Avenue was in on a plan with the other three to rob an Aurora Drive couple July 27, 2003.
Assistant Prosecutor Jay Macejko said the four lured the Aurora Drive couple to a home on Woodford under the pretense of selling them car rims. The man went inside while his wife waited in the car.
Once inside, the man was tied up, taken to the basement, burned with an iron and robbed of some $400. When the robbers realized the man's wife was outside, they brought her in, tied her up and took her jewelry, Macejko said.
Macejko said the group threatened to kill the woman if her husband did not give them more money. Lee, Simmons and Jackson put the man in his own car and rode with him, supposedly to get more money. Rozier stayed behind to guard the victim's wife.
Jackson, who had been pointing a gun at the man, put the gun down to wipe sweat from his forehead, Macejko said. The victim grabbed the gun and a struggle for it ensued. That's when the gun fired and Lee was shot in the abdomen.
Macejko said under Ohio law, causing the death of a person while in the act of committing another crime is considered murder. Because Lee was killed during a robbery, the others were charged with his murder even though he was their accomplice.
The robbery victim was not charged, despite the fact that he was apparently struggling for the gun when it went off.
Macejko said when Rozier learned that Lee had been shot, he ran from the house and left the female victim unattended. She was later rescued by police.
tullis@vindy.com

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