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Man gets more than three years on gang charges
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man who had pleaded guilty to his role in a West Side street gang was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Monday to 31/2 years in prison.
Keith Tillis, 26, of Murray Avenue in Campbell, was sentenced by Judge Lou A. D’Apolito on charges of aggravated riot and participation in a criminal gang.
Tillis entered his guilty pleas Dec. 19.
He was one of 12 people indicted in May for belonging to the E Block Street gang on the West Side of Youngstown. Gang members sold real and fake drugs, and the aggravated-riot charge stems from the beating of a man police called an informant on the gang in 2013.
The gang used Evanston Avenue as its base of operations on the lower West Side and the streets around there, including Lakeview and Portland avenues, police said.
Assistant Prosecutor Martin Desmond asked the judge to adopt the agreed-upon sentence of 31/2 years, saying that Tillis has a criminal record stretching back to when he was a juvenile and that he was on probation for a possession of heroin charge when he committed the crimes for which he was indicted.
“The chances of recidivism are far more likely than unlikely,” Desmond siad.
Defense attorney James Gentile also asked the judge not to stray from the recommended sentence. He said there are no crimes of violence in Tillis’ past criminal record and that Tillis was doing well on probation before he was arrested.
Tillis apologized and told the court that he wants to use his time in prison to better himself.
“I’m not the best, but I’m trying to become a better man,” Tillis said.
Tillis also was given credit for 259 days served in the county jail while awaiting the outcome of his case.
Judge D’Apolito told Tillis to use the time in prison to his advantage. He told Tillis to have a plan for his life, his future, and how he will take care of his two children. Also, if he behaves himself in prison and presents a good plan, there is a good chance he could qualify for judicial release after he serves the first two years of his sentence.
“When our imperfections compel us to break the law, it can be a dangerous circumstance,” Judge D’Apolito said.