Youngest of 5 charged in fatal Niles burglary attempt sentenced

Staff report

WARREN

The youngest of five people involved in a Niles burglary that resulted in the death of one of the five burglars was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday, after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and attempted aggravated burglary.

Scott C. Crislip, 18, of South Cedar Street in Niles, apologized during his hearing before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, saying he “didn’t intend for anyone to be harmed.”

Crislip was among three men who were attempting to break into a home early July 2 on Niles Cortland Road near U.S. Route 422 when the homeowner fired a shotgun blast through the front door, killing burglar Terry Allen, 37, of Mineral Ridge.

The homeowner was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Michael Burns, 34, of Mineral Ridge was convicted at trial on the same charges as Crislip and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Mindy Sierra, 32, of Niles, one of two women who dropped off the three men and planned to pick them up after the break-in, was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this month.

The other woman, Nichole Allen, 36, of Mineral Ridge, wife of Terry Allen, awaits trial for her role.

Crislip’s attorney, Matt Pentz of the Ohio Public Defender’s office, said of the sentence, “It’s an expensive life lesson for him, but that’s what it is.”

The case was the first one in many years in which prosecutors charged co-conspirators with murder for a death that resulted from participation in a crime.

For Crislip and Sierra, the murder charge was dropped in exchange for a plea agreement. Burns was found not guilty of murder at trial.

Ironically, Nichole Allen is the only one of the four defendants who still faces a murder charge — for the death of her husband.