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Man sentenced to four years in June shooting
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A city man will spend the next four years in prison for firing a shot at another man earlier this year.
Arthur Bell, 36, was sentenced Monday by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to a charge of felonious assault with a one-year specification that a firearm was used.
No one was hurt in the shooting, which occured June 8 in Youngs-town.
Bell’s lawyer, Tom Zena, told Judge Krichbaum the victim in the case was a man who had known Bell, but the man’s wife left him and lived with Bell.
Zena said that on the day of the shooting, the victim called Bell and said he was coming to his home and then called again and said he would be there in a short time.
When the man got out of his car, Bell went outside, and the man had a gun.
When Bell saw the gun, he fired. He missed the man but shattered a window on the victim’s car, Zena said. The man then left and did not wait for police, Zena said.
“My contention is he [the victim] got out of there to get rid of the gun,” Zena said.
Although no one was hurt, Judge Krichbaum noted the shooting is part of a disturbing trend he sees on how people settle arguments.
“There is far too much of this going on in our community, people dealing with problems pull out guns and start shooting at each other,” Judge Krichbaum said. “There has to be a better way than that.”
Bell was given credit for 117 days he waited in the county jail for his case to be resolved.