Judge sentences Liberty man for fatal crime spree

The defendant took responsibility for his actions.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Jason Howard of Liberty will spend at least 44 years in prison for a June 2006 crime spree in which he admits he killed David Dally of Warren and shot two other men.
What Howard, 25, refuses to take responsibility for, however, are the Columbus killings of his former girlfriend and her three children, one of whom he fathered.
On Thursday, Howard pleaded guilty to the six charges he faced in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and received a sentence of 44 years to life in prison from Judge John M. Stuard. Howard has not been indicted in the Columbus slayings, though police there called him a "person of interest" and charged him in the crimes.
Before sentencing, Howard, of Catherine Street, said he has always solved his problems with violence and knows that he has hurt a lot of people. "I take full responsibility for my actions," he said.
Denies Columbus killings
Though he said he wasn't always a very good father and not always good to his former girlfriend, Jameila West, formerly of Warren, he vowed that he did not kill her or the three children. The family was thought to be dead for several days when their bodies were found in their home June 21.
Jameila West's mother, Victoria, however, believes Howard did kill West and her children, she told The Vindicator. On Nov. 15, she and two other relatives attacked Howard while he waited for a suppression hearing to begin in Stuard's courtroom. The attack was videotaped and broadcast locally as well as across the country.
Victoria West; her son, Lewis West; and Victoria West's nephew, Sulthan Honzu, were all charged with misdemeanors in connection with the attack. Their cases are pending in Warren Municipal Court.
Howard admits killing David Dally, 24, of Ohio Avenue on June 19 and shooting Mario Sowell, 30, of First Street on June 18 and Dontai Young, 26, of Lane Drive on June 21.
Howard threw his indictment on the floor during his arraignment in Judge Stuard's courtroom June 23 and admitted being guilty of all six charges.
Howard's defense attorney, Jim Lewis of the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said when the prosecutor's office came to him with a plea agreement, he looked at the prosecution's evidence and then recommended that Howard accept the agreement.
Details
Howard's charges and their penalties are:
Aggravated murder of Dally with a specification of using a firearm, total sentence 23 years to life.
Aggravated robbery of Sowell, 10 years.
Felonious assault and kidnapping of Sowell and attempted murder of Young, 11 years.
Being a felon in possession of a firearm for having been convicted in 2004 of domestic violence.
The first three parts of the sentence are to be served consecutively. The fourth part is to be served at the same time as the attempted murder.
Dally's sister, Stacey Montgomery, and his mother, Bonnie Dally, spoke before sentencing, relating how one of Dally's three children continues to ask when his father is coming back. Montgomery noted that having more than 300 people attend his funeral showed that many people cared about him.
"He [Howard] had no right to take his life," Montgomery said.
runyan@vindy.com