43
Barnette will serve two life sentences
YOUNGSTOWN
Lorenza Barnette likely will never walk the streets again as a free man.
Barnette, 29, of Lora Avenue, was convicted of aggravated murder, kidnapping and arson in the Aug. 11, 2009, deaths of Jaron L. Roland, 20, of Fairmont Avenue, and his cousin, Darry B. Woods-Burt Jr., 19, of the city’s North Side.
The men were suffocated with trash bags then left in a burning car along the Mahoning River.
Attys. J. Gerald Ingram and Ronald Yarwood, representing Barnette, asked the court for a more lenient sentence, but Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday sentenced the convicted killer to two consecutive life sentences plus an additional 211/2 years on the kidnapping and arson charges.
Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty in the case. A jury Tuesday, however, recommended the life sentence over the death penalty.
Barnette, before sentencing, did not appear to be overly concerned about his fate. He spent the 30 minutes before the start of the hearing mouthing words to and laughing with four family members in the courtroom.
Barnette chose to remain silent when the judge asked him if he had anything to say before he received his sentence.
Members of the victims’ family sitting in the courtroom did not remain silent, however.
A cousin to both victims had harsh words addressed to the court, but clearly directed toward Barnette.
Venus Stewart questioned whether Barnette considered the impact on her family before murdering her cousins. She said Barnette committed a cowardly act and has shown no remorse.
“We have waited two years, two months and some days for this day to look you in the face and hold you accountable for what you did,” she said. “We have watched you scribble on paper, laugh with your family and show absolutely no remorse for what you have done.”
Stewart told Barnette he robbed her family of future happiness, but ultimately, with his life sentence, also has robbed his family of the same happiness.
Quiana Bills, another cousin to both victims, spoke to the court about the pain her family has endured after the murders. She said Barnette has shown no remorse and has actually threatened her family before being arrested.
“I was first-cousin to both victims and was very close to them. We grew up in the same house. ... They were my little cousins, but acted like big brothers.”
Bills said several family members have had to seek counseling because they could not sleep at night. Both cousins said the images of the murder scene and the trial are forever engraved in their memories.