Man sentenced to seven years for Lora Avenue shooting

YOUNGSTOWN — A man who ran out of his sentencing hearing last summer in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and was on the run for several months was sentenced to seven years in prison today.

Richard LaBooth, 36, received the sentence from Judge Lou D'Apolito for a Dec. 12, 2012, shooting on Lora Avenue in which LaBooth and another man were wounded.

LaBooth entered an Alford plea to a charge of felonious assault with a firearm specification. An Alford plea means a defendant maintains their innocence yet admits there is enough evidence that a jury could find them guilty.

LaBooth was set to be sentenced in July but ran out of the courthouse during a break in the hearing. He was on the run until December, when he was captured in Columbus.