Driver gets 5 years for traffic deaths

The defendant was arrested in the Oil City, Pa., area.

YOUNGSTOWN — A Liberty man has been sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of aggravated vehicular assault in a July 8, 2004, accident on Glenwood Avenue.

Johnny Mitchell, 37, of Green Acres Drive, drew the sentence Tuesday from Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court after Robert Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, recommended five years of incarceration.

The aggravated-vehicular homicide counts pertain to Latay Pugh, 12, and Latasha Harper, who died in the single-vehicle accident. The aggravated vehicular assault count pertains to Yazmeen Green, 4, who was injured but survived. All were passengers in the southbound car Mitchell was driving, which left the pavement and hit a tree near Kenmore Avenue.

Mitchell, who apologized for the accident at his sentencing, left Youngstown after being indicted on the charges; and he has been jailed since Pennsylvania State Police captured him in June 2005 at an Oil City, Pa., area motel.

Mitchell’s arrest record, which dates to 1989, includes robbery, receiving stolen property, assault, drug trafficking and aggravated-menacing charges.

“I had to pull the plug on my daughter,” Corey L. Pugh Sr. of Youngstown, Latay’s father, told the judge. “My daughter’s a hero. She saved her baby sister’s life. She wrapped her body over her baby sister so she could live,” he added. “I haven’t been the same for four years because of that man over there,” he said, referring to Mitchell.

Kendra Harper of Youngstown, Latay’s mother and Latasha Harper’s sister, said: “A part of me is gone, and all I ask of you, your honor, is to please let justice be served.”

Andrews declined to comment after the sentencing about the rationale for his sentencing recommendation or why the case took so long to prosecute.

Paul J. Gains, county prosecutor, said he didn’t have all the details about the case, but he said a reduction in sentence is normally granted when a defendant pleads guilty to the charges as indicted and accepts responsibility for his actions.

Each aggravated-vehicular homicide count carried a sentence range of two to eight years, and the aggravated-vehicular assault count carried a one-to-five-year sentencing range.