Man gets four years for East Side robbery

By Joe Gorman | March 24, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Naquel Gadson told Judge Lou D’Apolito in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that at age 22, he has a different thought process than at 18.

Gadson, who was being sentenced for a robbery of an East Side drug store Dec. 28, 2012, when he was 18, said he thought then of how he could take more things.

Now, at 22, after spending two years in Texas while there was an aggravated robbery warrant out for his arrest, he says he no longer thinks that way.

“I just cared about things and went about it the wrong way,” Gadson said Wednesday. “I didn’t have any responsibilities. My mindset was different.”

Judge D’Apolito sentenced Gadson to four years in prison. Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Paris was seeking a five-year sentence, which would increase greatly the time Gadson would have to serve before he is eligible for judicial release.

He has been in the Mahoning County jail since he was brought back from Texas, where he was found by U.S. marshals in early September.

Paris said Gadson was one of three people involved in the December 2012 robbery of a Walgreens store on McCartney Road. Gadson pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated robbery and robbery. He also had committed several robberies as a juvenile, and his brother, Jarel Gadson, 20, is in jail awaiting trial on charges he was involved in several robberies on the North Side in August.

Naquel Gadson clutched a letter he is sending to the clerk who was robbed at the store apologizing for the robbery. Gadson also wrote a four-page letter to Judge D’Apolito taking responsibility for his crime. Judge D’Apolito said he thinks the letter is sincere.

“I believe you have learned your lesson,” Judge D’Apolito said. “I genuinely believe you are on the right track.”

By giving Gadson a four-year sentence, Judge D’Apolito said he is able to closely monitor Gadson’s behavior because Gadson will be on probation for a longer period of time. Other factors included the fact no one was hurt and Gadson did not use a gun, Judge D’Apolito said.