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Three enter guilty pleas for attack on home of witness
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Three men entered guilty pleas Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for an attack in May on the home of a witness in a murder trial.
A fourth defendant, Christopher Bridges, 21, of Megan Circle, had charges of aggravated burglary and felonious assault dismissed.
Entering guilty pleas were Monty Robinson, 22, of Kendis Circle, to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, felonious assault and a firearm specification; Laquame Knox, 22, of Hyatt Avenue in Campbell to a charge of attempted felonious assault; and Melvin Johnson III, 21, who has no address listed, to a charge of illegal conveyance of a prohibited item into a detention facility.
Assistant Prosecutor Shawn Burns is recommending a sentence for three years concurrent on the weapons and felonious assault charge for Robinson, plus an additional three years for a firearm specification.
Johnson will be eligible for judicial release 30 days after he is done serving the mandatory three-year firearm specification, and he has credit for 162 days served in the county jail.
A sentencing date will be set for Johnson, but he was given a reduced bond as part of his plea agreement until his sentencing date. Burns is recommending an 18-month sentence for him.
Knox was sentenced to 18 months in prison, given credit for 162 days served in jail and is eligible for judicial release 30 days after he is transferred from the jail to prison.
Bridges’ charges were dismissed because he was just with the defendants and had nothing to do with the attack, said his attorney Lou DeFabio.
Police were called to a home in the 100 block of South Forest Avenue on the East Side just before midnight May 13, where a 24-year-old man told them three men tried to get inside his home.
The man told police he heard a knock on the door and there were three men outside his home – one on the side of the home, one in the drive next to a vehicle and one in the front yard, reports said.
The man said the person on the side of the house had a gun, and one of the men called out to him that the man had his property and he wanted it returned.
Then one of the suspects tried to get inside, but the homeowner said he pushed the man away from the door as he heard gunfire.
The homeowner then heard several shots. When the gunfire ceased, he looked out the window and saw a car driving away, reports said.
In court Thursday, it was revealed the only person who had a gun that night was Robinson and the victim also fired shots from his own gun, said Robinson’s attorney Lynn Maro.
Although the man was a witness in a murder trial, prosecutors would not say if that was the motive for the attack.