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Prosecutors cut deal; Jones gets 6 years
YOUNGSTOWN
With a key witness now dead, the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office cut a deal with a Youngstown man charged in a double homicide.
As a result, he’ll now serve just a six-year prison term on lesser crimes.
Quentin Jones, 24, originally had been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Jasmon Reeder, 19, of Superior Street, and Oscar Teague, 56, of Wirt Avenue on Aug. 6, 2011, but he entered into an agreement with prosecutors where he pleaded guilty to two counts of voluntary manslaughter.
The maximum penalty for murder is 15 years to life in prison. Jones will serve the full six years before being released.
Officers responded to gunshots fired at the Wirt residence and when they arrived, they found Reeder shot in the head. Teague, owner of the house, was found shot in the back.
Nicholas Brevetta, an assistant county prosecutor, told Judge John M. Durkin of common pleas court at Jones’ sentencing Wednesday that both Teague and Reeder are believed to have been killed in the crossfire between Jones and his 22-year-old co-defendant Keilan Clinkscale.
Brevetta said Jones showed up to the house, which was being used to sale drugs, carrying a rifle and exchanged words with Clinkscale. The two men began firing at one another leaving Teague and Reeder dead in the crossfire.
“We do believe Mr. Jones, as much as could be, was the instigator in this situation, showing up at the home with the firearm,” Brevetta said.
Brevetta told the judge the only other surviving witness to the shooting, besides the two men charged, died of a drug overdose before the matter could be brought to court.
Judge Durkin said he understands the agreement with Jones was made to seek some form of justice because there are no witnesses other than the defendants, but he added there are no winners in the case.
“I will be very honest, I don’t know that a sentence identical to Mr. Clinkscale accomplishes justice, but if this case proceeded to trial there could have very well been a verdict of not guilty,” Judge Durkin said.
He sentenced Jones to three years on each murder charge to be served concurrently and an additional three years for the gun specification to be served consecutively to the manslaughter sentences.
Jones apologized to his family, many of whom were seated in court, and to the family of his victim before sentencing. He said he did not intend to kill anyone the day he went to the house.
Jones also had been charged with felony receiv- ing stolen property in another case, but that charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement in the homicide case.
He was previously accused of domestic violence after an argument with his 19-year-old girlfriend in 2011. He also was charged with marijuana possession in 2007.
Clinkscale pleaded guilty earlier this year to voluntary manslaughter in the deaths of Reeder and Teague, and he also pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the 2009 murder of 24-year-old Melkanoe Bowman.
Clinkscale received a total of six years in prison for all three deaths and firearm specifications.