Man enters guilty pleas in Wood Street shooting

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A man accused of wounding another man in a shooting on Wood Street in February entered guilty pleas to several charges.

Algernon Franklin, 24, of Redgate Lane, Austintown, entered his pleas Monday before Judge John Durkin in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to charges of aggravated robbery, felonious assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying concealed weapons.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 23.

A charge of attempted murder was amended to felonious assault as part of the plea agreement.

Franklin is accused of wounding a 19-year-old man during an attempted robbery Feb. 17 in a parking lot on West Wood Street.

Police say the man was shot several times and told police when he was questioned that someone named “Al” shot him.

Franklin also had a gunshot-residue test administered.

He tested positive for firing a gun, and he had a 9mm handgun on him when he was arrested at the bus station on West Federal Street.

The victim was shot with a 9mm handgun.

Police said neither Franklin nor the man he shot lived at the address where the shooting took place.

Franklin was set to enter guilty pleas last week, but family members urged him to wait for his mother, who was on her way to court, so he could talk to her before making a decision, and last week’s hearing was delayed.