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Manslaughter defendant gets 12 years in prison
YOUNGSTOWN
A South Side man, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Walter Drake, 29, of Hilton Avenue, drew the sentence Thursday from Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for the June 13, 2012, shooting death of Dion Weatherspoon in the driveway of Drake’s home.
The sentence consists of nine years for the manslaughter, plus a mandatory, consecutive three-year firearm specification.
Drake will be on parole for five years after prison.
Witnesses told police they saw Drake shoot Weatherspoon.
Drake and Weatherspoon were friends, but argued and fought before the shooting, possibly over a theft or a woman, police said.
Drake, who apologized for his crime, had initially been charged with murder, but the charge was reduced to voluntary manslaughter in the plea deal.
Robert J. Andrews, an assistant county prosecutor, recommended a total prison sentence of 14 years, which would have been the maximum sentence available to the judge.
“Dion wasn’t an angel, but he’s still a human being. He did not deserve to get shot eight times, six of them in the back,” as he walked away from the confrontation, Andrews said.
Andrews acknowledged, however, that had there been a trial, witnesses would have testified Weatherspoon was initially the aggressor.
Saying Drake had no prior felony record, Drake’s lawyer, Lou DeFabio recommended a total prison sentence of eight years.
Had the case gone to trial, DeFabio had earlier said he was prepared to argue that Drake acted in self-defense, but he conceded Thursday: “Given the number of shots, it probably wasn’t a self-defense case.”
The day after Weatherspoon’s death, someone set fire to Drake’s house.