Youngstown man wants to withdraw plea in shooting death of boy in 2012

YOUNGSTOWN — The judge who sentenced a defendant to life in prison without parole in the shooting death of a sleeping 8-year-old boy has said he has no jurisdiction to rule on the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial.

In a judgment entry filed today, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said he lacked jurisdiction to consider Shawn Wilson’s motion because Wilson’s appeal of his conviction and sentence is pending before the 7th District Court of Appeals.

In his plea-withdrawal request, Wilson, 22, of Youngstown, said he “was not capable of knowingly and intelligently waiving his constitutional rights” to a trial when he pleaded guilty Jan. 7.

Judge Krichbaum imposed the life sentence after prosecutors took the death penalty off the table in the plea deal in the death of Bryce Linebaugh, who was fatally shot in the head with an assault rifle in his Rockford Village apartment residence at 1:15 a.m. Aug. 20, 2012.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com