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Man gets 31-year sentence for shooting 2 men, 1 fatally
YOUNGSTOWN
Dreon A. Williams is going to prison for a long time.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Williams to 31 years to life in prison Wednesday.
A jury convicted the 18-year-old Tuesday in the shooting death of one man and the wounding of another man more than a year ago in Campbell.
Williams, of Elliot Lane, who was 17 when the shootings occurred, was bound over from juvenile court for trial as an adult.
Williams was convicted of murder in the death of Anthony Harrison, who was shot in the back, and attempted murder in the wounding of Eric Van Cobb, who was shot in the back of the leg but survived.
Both victims were confronted as they walked home from a church festival and were shot as they ran from the gunfire at 13th Street and Tremble Avenue.
Harrison, 20, of Chambers Street, Campbell, died after the bullet penetrated a lung and his heart, the coroner said. Police have said they think robbery was the motive for the shootings.
“Aug. 6, 2010, earlier in that day, my brother applied for college. Later on that night, I saw my brother in the middle of the street,” a tearful Ashley Harrison of Campbell told the judge before he imposed the sentence on Williams.
“He was a good kid. He had goals, and now, because of Dreon Williams, my brother cannot reach his potential,” she said.
Judge Krichbaum decried “the cold-blooded murder of Anthony Harrison, a truly innocent victim gunned down in the streets for no reason.” He added, “These guys ran in different directions and were gunned down as they were trying to save their own lives.”
Atty. Michael O. Kivlighan, who represented Williams, urged the judge to “take his youth and inexperience into account” and to consider imposing on Williams minimum concurrent sentences totaling 18 years to life.
But Judge Krichbaum made the murder and attempted murder and firearm specifications attached to those charges consecutive, saying he doesn’t give “discounts for multiple attempts or successful attempts to kill two different people.”
Tuesday’s verdict contrasted with a jury’s acquittal Oct. 5 of Williams’ brother, Dionte Robinson, 19, also of Elliot Lane, on identical charges in the same shootings.
A significant difference between the brothers’ cases is that, in the Williams case, a witness testified Williams admitted to him his role in the crimes, said Robert J. Andrews, an assistant county prosecutor.
Williams will be on parole for five years after he leaves prison.
Kivlighan said he will file an appeal.