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Second defendant sentenced in East Myrtle homicide
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Two of three defendants in the November 2015 shooting death of a Burbank Avenue man on a South Side street have turned down plea bargains and both have received hefty sentences after they were convicted by jurors in separate trials.
Friday, Jason Heard, 21, the second defendant to go on trial for the Nov. 14, 2015, shooting death of Thomas Owens, 33, on East Mytrle Avenue, was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Judge Lou D’Apolito to 28 years to life in prison on a single count of complicity to commit aggravated murder and three counts of complicity to attempted murder.
In November, Leonard Savage, 22, was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for the same crime after he was convicted by a jury.
Heard was convicted Feb. 17.
The third defendant, Jawonn Hymes, 27, goes on trial later this year on aggravated murder and attempted murder charges for the death of Owens, who was sitting in a car with three other men when it was fired at several times.
Prosecutors said Owens was killed because, in 2004, he pleaded guilty to negligent homicide of Savage’s uncle, Richard Owens, no relation to Thomas Owens, after a gun the two were handling went off and Richard Owens died.
Assistant Prosecutor Steve Yacovone asked for a maximum sentence for Heard, which would have been 34 to life, because of the fact someone was killed and three other people could have been killed.
Defense attorney Tony Meranto said he tried to get his client to take a plea bargain, to no avail. Meranto asked for a minimum sentence, which would have been 20 to life, because of his client’s youth and also because his client does not have a significant adult criminal record.
Judge D’Apolito said the case is a “tragedy” and that no one came out a winner.
“Nobody wins today,” Judge D’Apolito said. “A life was lost, families were destroyed, and youth was lost. It’s a sad day.”