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2 headed to prison for roles in shooting
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Dominique Callier
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Derrick Johnson
YOUNGSTOWN
Two city men are headed to prison for their roles in a 2009 South Side shooting that left two people wounded.
Dominique Callier, 19, of Hylda Avenue, and Derrick Johnson, 20, of Clarencedale Avenue, appeared for sentencing Thursday before Judge John Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Each man pleaded guilty to two counts of felonious assault with two gun specifications and criminal gang specifications.
Callier also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a weapon and improper discharge of a firearm.
Charges against the men stem from a shooting on Judson Avenue in early March 2009.
According to Vindicator files, Sherrick Jackson, 20, of East Judson Avenue, was shot in the neck while in the front yard of an East Judson home. John Mitchell, 27, no address given, was shot in his left leg while in a sport-utility vehicle in the driveway of the same address.
Several shots were fired at the house from two vehicles. When officers arrived, they found a maroon 1998 Buick in the street with all four doors open and keys in the ignition.
The other vehicle, a red Pontiac Bonneville, fled the area, and the occupants of the Buick fled on foot.
The improper discharging charge against Callier stems from a separate shooting on the South Side in 2009.
Atty. John Juhasz, representing Callier, said his client is a product of “social failure.” He said Callier’s parents were not involved, leaving him to be raised by an elderly relative who was not equipped to handle a teenage boy.
Callier apologized to his victims. He said he wants to accept responsibility for his crime and “live like a civilized human being.”
Jennifer McLaughlin, an assistant county prosecutor, recommended a combined seven-year sentence for all the charges against Callier.
Judge Durkin took into consideration Callier’s acceptance of responsibility and accepted the seven-year recommendation. Callier will get credit for the two years he has spent in the county jail awaiting the outcome of his case.
Atty. Ron Knickerbocker, representing Johnson, said his client also grew up in a blighted part of Youngstown with little opportunity.
Johnson apologized to the court, his family and his victims before his sentencing.
“I’m not a gangster. I want to go to prison, do my time, come home and be a productive person for my kids,” he said.
McLaughlin recommended a combined five-year sentence for Johnson. Judge Durkin told Johnson he hopes to see him emerge from prison with a message for young people that criminal activity is not the way to go.
The judge adopted the five-year recommendation for Johnson. He will get credit for the 310 days he has spent in jail awaiting the end of his case.