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Man faces 18 years to life in prison for murder
YOUNGSTOWN
A jury convicted Dreon A. Williams of all counts in the Aug. 6, 2010, shooting death of Anthony Harrison and the wounding of Harrison’s friend as the two victims walked home from a Campbell church festival.
The seven-man, five-woman jury rendered its verdict late Tuesday afternoon after two hours of deliberations at the end of a two-day trial.
Williams, who was 17 when the shootings occurred, faces 18 years to life in prison when sentenced at 10 a.m. today by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Williams’ case originated in juvenile court, but he was bound over for trial as an adult.
Williams, of Elliot Lane, was convicted of murder in Harrison’s death and of attempted murder and felonious assault in the wounding of Eric Van Cobb, with firearm specifications, and tampering with evidence.
Harrison, 20, of Chambers Street, Campbell, was shot once at 13th Street and Tremble Avenue, with the bullet penetrating a lung and his heart, the coroner ruled. Police believe robbery was the motive for the assaults.
Tuesday’s verdict contrasted with a jury’s acquittal on Oct. 5 of Williams’ brother, Dionte Robinson, 19, also of Elliot Lane, on identical charges in the same shootings. The forewoman of the jury that acquitted Robinson said the prosecution “had a lot of holes in its story.”
A key difference between the brothers’ cases is that, in the Williams case, a witness testified Williams admitted to him his role in the crimes, Robert J. Andrews, the assistant county prosecutor who prosecuted this case, said after the jury rendered its verdict.