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Shooter is sentenced in man’s death
Relatives of the victim described the defendant as being heartless and a coward.
LISBON — Eric Dillard apologized to the family of the man he killed but said, “I was in danger” from an unarmed man.
Dillard, 31, of Wellsville, spoke Monday before he was sentenced by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge C. Ashley Pike.
The judge imposed a sentence of 23 years before Dillard could be eligible for parole.
Dillard appeared in court in orange jail clothes with his hands handcuffed in front of him. The handcuffs were not removed during the sentencing.
Dillard was convicted in May of shooting a business partner, Jamie Farley, 35, of East Liverpool, outside Dillard’s home at 906 Commerce St., Wellsville, about 10 p.m. April 22, 2008.
Reading from a handwritten statement, Dillard said: “I can’t bring him back. I would like to apologize. I was in danger.”
Farley had paid $20,000 to Dillard to buy and resell clothes with the expectation he would double or triple his investment. He received only $1,500 in return.
When Farley went to Dillard’s home to complain, Dillard pulled a .40-caliber pistol.
Dillard had a previous conviction on a drug offense that prohibited him from owning a gun.
Dillard testified that Farley approached with Farley’s right arm out of sight. Dillard then shot Farley twice.
No other gun or shell casings were found at the shooting scene.
Before Dillard spoke, John Gamble, the county’s chief assistant prosecutor, said that Dillard blamed everyone.
Farley’s mother, Terri Davis of Youngstown, told the court that she received a call that her son had been shot. He was taken to the East Liverpool City Hospital.
“By the time I got there, he was gone,” Davis said.
She told Dillard: “You took my son. There is a hole in my heart. But it’s never going to be the same. I’ll never get it back,” she said.
Davis said to Dillard, “You know what you are? You’re a coward.”
Jessica Davis, Farley’s sister, also of Youngstown, said in court, “He was my brother and I miss him a lot.”
Jessica Davis also said Dillard was “heartless.”
wilkinson@vindy.com