Court panel upholds lengthy prison term

A three-judge panel of the 7th District Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld a 30-year prison term for a man who pleaded guilty in the Nov. 18, 2007, shooting death of James E. Dow, 28, of South Lakeview Avenue.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed consecutive prison sentences totaling three decades on Michael W. Lee, 22, of Cordova Avenue: 10 years for voluntary manslaughter; eight years for felonious assault; and three years each for aggravated robbery, kidnapping and two firearm specifications.

Dow was found dead in the basement of 145 Thornton Avenue, and Dow’s friend, Emmanuel C. Bunkley, 29, of Youngstown, survived being shot in the hip.

In his appeal, Lee argued unsuccessfully that separate sentences should not have been imposed on him for the allied offenses of aggravated robbery and kidnapping and that the gun specifications should have merged into a single three-year prison term.

But the appeals court upheld separate sentences, saying the crimes were separate and distinct.

The appeals court decision, released Wednesday, was written by Judge Cheryl L. Waite, with Judges Gene Donofrio and Joseph J. Vukovich concurring.