Long time drug dealer Peete gets life prison term

WARREN — Detroit native Derrick D. Peete, 23, who has been dealing drugs in Warren and Detroit since at least 2009, received a life prison sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years, for a gun fight that killed a Warren man.

He pleaded guilty today in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to murder in the death of Marco Dukes, 32, tampering with evidence, discharging a firearm into a habitation, and the attempted aggravated murder of Larry Smith, 29, Dukes' cousin.

His guilty plea avoided a trial scheduled to begin on Monday.

Peete, who got a 1-year prison sentence in Trumbull County in 2010 for drug dealing but also had drug convictions in Detroit, also pleaded guilty today to felonious assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

He killed Dukes and injured Smith during a gun battle Nov. 11, 2012, in an alley off of Elm Road near St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on High Street, which was holding Sunday services at the time.

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