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YOUNGSTOWN Robber jailed for 10 years
YOUNGSTOWN
Gerald Johnson will spend the next decade in prison for the armed robbery of an out-of-town truck driver, but prosecutors wanted to see him behind bars much longer.
Johnson, 31, of Riverside Drive, appeared Friday before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for sentencing on charges of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and illegal possession of a weapon. The charges stem from the robbery of a truck driver making a delivery to a Family Dollar store on Market Street in April 2010.
Judge D’Apolito handed down a combined 10-year sentence and ordered Johnson to serve five years of parole upon his release. Johnson will get credit for the 451 days he has spent in the Mahoning County jail.
Ironically, Johnson was offered a 10-year sentence in exchange for a guilty plea in a plea agreement, which he accepted. Johnson, however, quickly took back his guilty plea and elected to go to trial. He was later found guilty of all charges by a jury.
Rebecca Doherty, an assistant county prosecutor, said the prosecutor’s office was willing to make the 10-year sentence agreement if Johnson accepted responsibility for his actions and saved all involved from going to trial. She said Johnson did not do that so the prosecutor’s office wanted to see a combined sentence of 26 years on all charges.
“There was no acceptance of responsibility. The matter went to trial, and he was found guilty. Prior to trial, the state offered 10 years for his acceptance of responsibility, but he did not do that,” she said. “He was given 10 years, which the state does not see as satisfactory.”
Doherty said Johnson’s sentence also should have been longer to better protect the public.
Before sentencing, Doherty pointed out that the victim was an out-of-town truck driver who did not know Johnson and was simply doing his job. She said Johnson viciously bit the man during a struggle for the gun Johnson was holding after a shot was fired.
“The gun was fired. Someone could have been killed, either the victim or Mr. Johnson,” she said.
Judge D’Apolito, prior to handing down a sentence, said sometimes numbers are thrown around without any real consideration for the days, weeks and years those numbers will have on an individual’s life. He said it is ultimately his responsibility to determine the fair and adequate number of years to be handed down under the laws of the state.
Attorney Mark Lavelle, representing Johnson, told the court his client maintains his innocence. He said Johnson feels the jury simply made a mistake.
“Clearly juries make mistakes. It’s not a perfect system, so here we are. It is what it is,” he said.
The driver told police he got out of his truck, and Johnson approached, pulled a rifle out of his waistband and demanded money.
The driver gave Johnson his wallet, he told police, and Johnson put the rifle between his legs to get money out of the wallet.
The driver grabbed for the rifle, and the men began to fight. Johnson fired a shot, the driver told police, and at some point bit the driver. Another man in the truck, who was asleep during the robbery attempt, heard the shot and helped the driver subdue Johnson.
Johnson was handcuffed and taken to a police car, but he tried to run away. Police hit him with pepper spray to complete the arrest.