Gunbattle case brings four-year sentence

YOUNGSTOWN -- A defendant in a rolling gunbattle in which one person died and three others, including himself, were injured on the city's East Side on June 30, 2005, has been sentenced to four years in state prison.
William Aponte, 44, of Liberty Road, received the sentence Tuesday from Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, who adhered to the prosecution's sentencing recommendation.
Originally, Aponte was indicted on a murder charge in the death of Deandre B. Edwards, 18, of Woodcrest Avenue, and on charges of felonious assault and discharging a firearm at or into a habitation in the woundings of Ruth Slattery, 93, and James Christian, 17, who were shot in their right legs.
Edwards, Slattery and Christian were shot along Grandview Avenue. Slattery was hit while she sat in her kitchen.
Here was the deal
Aponte, who was shot in the head in the same gunfight, entered into an agreement with the prosecution in which he pleaded guilty to one count of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, and the prosecution agreed to drop all other charges in exchange for his testimony against Tiburcio Cruz, 29, of Liberty Road, had Cruz gone to trial.
The prosecution said in court papers that Aponte was the driver and Cruz was the shooter. Police reports and court papers are unclear as to who shot Aponte.
Cruz originally was indicted on a murder charge in Edwards' death and on two counts each of felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, but, in an agreement with the prosecution, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless homicide and one count of felonious assault with a firearm specification.
He faces three to 14 years in prison when Judge Krichbaum sentences him at 9:30 a.m. April 5.