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Man gets 18 years to life for murder
YOUNGSTOWN
Keith Sims Jr., 27, told the members of Shaneice Wells’ family he did not fire the fatal shot that killed her in fall 2014.
He spoke Tuesday before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced him to 18 years to life in prison.
The sentence consists of 15 years to life for the killing and the mandatory, consecutive three-year firearm specification.
In April, a jury convicted Sims after deliberating less than two hours.
Wells, 23, of Maplewood Court, was shot in the pelvis outside a home in the 800 block of East Boston Avenue on the South Side on Oct. 25, 2014. She later died of blood loss in St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.
Wells was shot after an argument by a group of women that stemmed from a dispute Sims was having with a man in a detached garage in the backyard concerning noise.
Wells came with a group of women, who were recruited by another woman to fight, but prosecutors said she was fatally shot after the argument had ended, and she was walking away from the home.
“When he walked in here [court] today, he was smiling. He showed no remorse. I don’t think he has a conscience. I don’t think he has any feelings,” Wells’ mother, Latonya White, said of Sims in her victim-impact statement.
“I just hope that justice is served,” White added.
“I’m sorry for your loss, but I’m not the person who did that,” Sims told Wells’ family.
Sims, of Ford Avenue, also told the judge he didn’t think he got a fair trial.
As he was preparing to sit down at the defense table, an irritated Judge Sweeney told him for a second time to stand.
“Stand up, sir! You’re getting sentenced!” she snapped before imposing the prison term.