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Fourth person pleads guilty in Winona Avenue homicide case
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A fourth person who was indicted for a role in the death of a teen during a brawl on the South Side in August entered guilty pleas Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Carl Fleeton, 42, of Norwood Avenue, pleaded guilty before Judge Lou A. D’Apolito to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault. Charges of involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault were dropped in exchange for his plea.
Shawn Cortez, 17, was killed during a brawl between two families Aug. 17 on Winona Avenue. Prosecutors said a group of people went to a home on the street looking to fight and were chased away by the people in the home. Cortez was one of the pursuers. He was shot and later died at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.
Police used cellphone video taken of the fight to help build their case.
Two women pleaded guilty for their role in Cortez’s death April 13, and one other defendant pleaded guilty March 30; 10 additional defendants still are awaiting trial. Two of those people, Dejon Jenkins, 19, and his brother David, 18, face murder charges in Cortez’s death. The others were charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated riot.
The trial is expected to begin Monday.
Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 71/2 years, while defense attorneys will be arguing for six years. Sentencing is set for June 2.
Testimony during a prior evidence-suppression hearing in the case showed that Cortez was shot during the fight, then loaded into a car by two people who tried to drive him to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. On the way there, the two spotted an ambulance and flagged it down, and the ambulance transported Cortez to the hospital, where he later died.
According to Vindicator files, a son of Fleeton’s, De’Vail Fleeton, 16, was shot to death in 2011. He was chased by two people and shot in front of a home in the 1400 block of Stewart Avenue. He left behind a 4-month-old child.
Files also show that in March 2012, an explosive device was found in Carl Fleeton’s yard. Reports at the time said Fleeton had been arguing with a man, and the man had threatened to blow up Fleeton’s fish tank.