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City man sentenced in death of girl, 17
‘You took one of God’s purest angels,’ the victim’s mother told the gunman.
YOUNGSTOWN — A man who was convicted of murdering a 17-year-old girl, wounding another 17-year-old and firing at four other people in a drive-by shooting was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison in a highly emotional hearing.
Deon Glenn, 20, of Glenwood Avenuue drew the sentence Friday from Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Last week, a jury convicted Glenn of murdering Maressia Patterson of Upland Avenue and wounding Akeem Minor of Lauderdale Avenue on May 26, 2007, on Ford Avenue on the city’s North Side.
“You got the better part of the deal. You’re still here. You can still talk and hug your family. They can still visit you,” Patterson’s mother, Rachel Wilkins of Youngstown, told Glenn. “I can’t do that. All I have is memories.”
“You took one of God’s purest angels from this Earth. ... You will pay for the rest of your life,” Wilkins told Glenn. “She is in a better place than you will ever see,” Wilkins added.
“There could be no more serious crime than taking a completely innocent child off the streets,” Martin P. Desmond, assistant county prosecutor, told the judge.
Rather than showing remorse, Glenn has shown regret that he was caught, Desmond said, recommending the 35-years-to-life prison term the judge later imposed.
Such a long sentence would warn others contemplating such behavior that “they are going to throw away their entire lives” if they pull the trigger, Desmond said.
Minor, who was shot in the leg and survived, would have bled to death had the bullet punctured the blood vessel it was resting against, Desmond said.
“My client is remorseful. He does accept responsibility,” said Glenn’s lawyer, David Engler, who called for a sentence of 25 years to life.
Glenn admitted firing the gun when he spoke to a detective shortly after the shooting, Engler said.
“My brother is not a murderer. He is remorseful. We’re all remorseful,” said Glenn’s sister, Sparkle Johnson of Youngstown. “None of this was done intentionally,” Johnson told the judge.
“He made a stupid mistake,” Charlotte Glenn of Youngstown said of her son, adding that she believed a life prison term would be unfair in this case.
“You have lost a child ... My heart goes out to you,” she told Wilkins, whom she embraced after court.
She told the defendant: “I love you son, and I’ve done all I can do to try to help you.”
“I’m sorry that it came to this,” the defendant said, adding that he’d bring the victim back if he could.
“You took a foolish act and you made it into a tragic act ...You destroyed your life, and you destroyed two families,” Judge D’Apolito told Glenn. “There can’t be anything more serious than the death of a child.”
The judge imposed the required 15 years to life for the murder, the mandatory consecutive five years for the motor vehicle gun specification, 10 consecutive years for the attempted murder of Minor, plus another five consecutive years for the attempted murder of the other four people, for a total of 35 years to life in prison.
Witnesses told police the shooting resulted from an online feud between groups at Chaney High School and the former Rayen School.
Testifying in his own defense during the trial, Glenn admitted firing from the car while he was intoxicated, but he denied trying to hurt or kill anyone.
Judge D’Apolito told Glenn he’d be on parole for five years after leaving prison.
Glenn will get credit for the 651 days he has already been jailed.
milliken@vindy.com