Youngstown man pleads no contest to reduced charge in veteran's killing

YOUNGSTOWN

A man accused in the 2010 murder of a Gulf War veteran pleaded no contest Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to a reduced charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Judge Maureen Sweeney found Frankie “Tank” Hudson, 24, of Falls Avenue, guilty of that charge and also charges of aggravated robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm for the Dec. 14, 2010, killing of Christopher Weston, 44, in an Overland Avenue store.

Defense attorney David Betras and Assistant Prosecutor Nick Brevetta agreed on a 15-year sentence to run concurrent to sentences Hudson is serving for being a member of a South Side gang. Judge Sweeney upheld the sentencing recommendation.

The sentence will give Hudson an additional three years in prison, but as part of the plea, prosecutors agreed to not oppose a request for judicial release as long as Hudson behaves himself in prison.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.