Man sentenced in shooting

The man has been ordered to attend a racial-diversity training class.

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Kenneth Rowles

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — Kenneth Rowles, the Warren Township man who fired a rifle at two Warren teens after one of them vandalized his John Mc Cain campaign sign in October 2008, will serve a five-year probation and 90 days of electronically monitored house arrest.

Rowles, 52, of Dover Street Southwest, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of aggravated assault, a felony, in January to avoid going to trial on a more serious aggravated assault charge.

Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court also ordered Rowles to pay restitution of $790, attend a racial-diversity training class, have no contact with his victims and submit to random firearm searches at his home.

Police said Rowles called police Oct. 25, 2008, to tell them about two young men in a sport-utility vehicle who had damaged his McCain sign, but he didn’t mention firing a rifle at them.

Later, after the mother of one of the teens called police, Rowles admitted he had fired the rifle three times as “warning shots” but didn’t fire at the teens.

The teens, who are black, said they were heading home after a haircut, and the 16-year-old driver of the SUV said he was “joking and playing” and kicked the sign over while Rowles was sitting on his front porch.

The driver said he yelled, “This is for Obama” to the homeowner.

The 17-year-old passenger was hit in the arm, and the SUV was hit twice. The restitution is to pay for the damage to the SUV, said Chris Becker, assistant Trumbull County prosecutor.