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Plea agreements entered for 2 in shooting death
YOUNGSTOWN
Two men charged with a 2010 shooting death on the city’s South Side have entered into plea agreements that likely will send both men to prison.
Randy L. Bell, 24, of East Philadelphia Avenue, and Mark Colpetro, 30, of Willis Avenue, entered their pleas Tuesday before Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The two men and a third co-defendant, Robert Clark, 38, of Canfield Road, were set to go on trial for murder this week.
Clark did not enter into a plea agreement on the murder charge against him, and no new date has been set for his trial.
The three men are charged in the death of Mark A. Trulson, 32, of Atlantic, Pa. Trulson was found shot in the head at South and Dewey avenues about 9:30 p.m. Feb. 19, 2010. He died just before 11 p.m. in St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Trulson, Michelle Difrischia and Charles Gerh, both of Williamsfield, Ohio, were shot while in a pickup truck outside the South Avenue Gas Mart on South Avenue. Difrischia and Gerh survived.
The three victims and Bell are believed to have been arguing over money the night of the shooting. The victims ultimately tried to get away in the truck, but the defendants reportedly gave chase in another auto.
Police said Bell is believed to have fired several shots into the truck, striking the three people inside.
Bell pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of felonious assault with a firearm specification. He faces up to 29 years in prison.
Atty. Paul Conn, representing Bell, and Rob Andrews, an assistant county prosecutor, reached an agreed-upon sentence for Bell of 13 years under the plea agreement.
Colpetro pleaded guilty to complicity to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of complicity to felonious assault. He could get up to 26 years on the charges.
Atty. Thomas Zena, representing Colpetro, and Andrews reached an agreement on a sentence of five years in prison for Colpetro, who must be available to testify against Clark when Clark’s case goes to trial.