Man pleads guilty in slaying

Staff report

WARREN

James E. Dotson, 27, who faced a possible life prison sentence for killing a man in the parking lot of Big Apple Convenient Mart on Oct. 3, 2009, pleaded guilty to lesser charges Monday in exchange for a five-year prison term.

Instead of going to trial Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Dotson pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and a gun charge. He had originally faced a murder charge.

Judge Andrew Logan sentenced Dotson, of Idylwild Street Northeast, according to the plea agreement between the Trumbull County prosecutor’s office and Dotson’s attorney, Heidi Hanni.

Dotson had been out of prison only about nine weeks when he shot Derek Thrash, 20, of Southern Boulvard in the chest at about 2:40 a.m.

The Big Apple was closed at the time, but about 100 people were in the store’s parking lot and adjacent areas. Neighbors say the area is a popular spot for people to go after the bars close.

Initially, police could not find a witness to the killing, despite the large crowd. Eventually, the public helped solve the crime, police said.

Chris Becker, the assistant county prosecutor who handled the case, did not return a call seeking comment on why the plea was accepted.

Dotson was 16 and tried as an adult in 1999 for shooting a man in the eye in Comstock Park, now known as North End Park, on Comstock Avenue Northeast.

Dotson was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of felonious assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released from prison July 22, 2009.

If Dotson had been convicted of murder, a gun charge and a specification that he is a repeat violent offender, he could have gotten life in prison with parole eligibility after 33 years.