2 men to be sentenced in fatal robbery

The prosecution is asking for long prison terms for both.

YOUNGSTOWN — Sentencing will be Friday afternoon for two young men who pleaded guilty to their roles in a robbery, one of them having also pleaded guilty to murdering the two 16-year-old robbery victims.

Devron Pinkard Jr., 19, of Park Vista Drive, who pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated robbery, will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. by Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The prosecution agreed to drop two aggravated murder charges with firearm specifications against him and recommend a combined 20-year sentence for him for the two robberies.

The triggerman in the double murder, Adrian M. Sims, 17, of West Marion Avenue, who pleaded guilty as charged to two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated robbery with firearm specifications, will be sentenced by Judge Evans an hour later.

Sims pleaded guilty in the slayings of Troy Barlow of Breaden Street and Jaimie Helms of Cornell Street, both found shot in the head May 20, 2006, behind a vacant Park Vista Drive house. The prosecution is recommending a 33-year to life prison sentence for Sims.

What was stolen

A small amount of marijuana, and possibly a small amount of cash and a pair of shoes, were taken from the victims, according to city Prosecutor Jay Macejko. Police said Helms’ body was the one found without shoes.

Pinkard, who was not armed when the murders occurred, confessed his role in the robberies, identified Sims as the shooter, and helped lead police to recover the .38-caliber pistol used to commit the murders, said Martin P. Desmond, assistant county prosecutor.

Sims and Pinkard entered their guilty pleas late Tuesday, with jury selection for their trial having been set to begin Wednesday morning. Sims was only 16 when the offenses occurred but was bound over from juvenile court for trial as an adult. The victims’ families were satisfied with the plea arrangement and the prosecution’s sentence recommendation for Pinkard, Desmond said.