43
Man pleads guilty in shooting
Photo
Samson Snowden
Photo
Asa Bush
Photo
Alfonda Madison
YOUNGSTOWN
A judge will sentence a city man in May for his role in the drive-by shooting of a 7-year-old girl last year.
Samson Snowden, 20, of Cedar Lane, in an agreement Thursday with Mahoning County prosecutors, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted felonious assault, a third-degree felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Snowden initially had been charged with four counts of felonious assault with gun specifications; however, three counts were dismissed in accordance with the plea agreement.
Prosecutors have recommended a four-year sentence on the attempted felonious-assault charge and an additional one-year sentence for the firearm specification to which Snowden pleaded.
Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court will sentence Snowden on May 18.
Prosecutors said Snowden — along with Alfonda Madison, 23, and Asa Bush, 22, who both listed Dearborn Avenue addresses — shot the child in both legs while she sat in the back seat of a relative’s car at a convenience store on Logan Avenue on the North Side in June 2010.
Witnesses told police a tan vehicle containing four men drove down Saranac Avenue west of Logan with someone firing shots at the car containing the child.
Family members said the child and other family members were headed to a local swimming pool. The family had piled into several cars heading to the recreation facility.
Bush is serving a five-year prison term for his role in the crime after entering into a plea agreement with prosecutors in February.
Madison also has pleaded guilty to one count of felonious assault in the case and is awaiting sentencing.