43
Prosecutor Dennis Watkins has asked the Ohio Parole Board to keep Tarik Allen in prison longer
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins has asked the Ohio Parole Board to keep Tarik Allen in prison longer for his role in the 1995 death of Mark Heltzel.
Allen, 39, of Warren, was convicted along with Maximillian Bell of involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping and aggravated robbery in Heltzel’s death.
Allen and Bell were 17 and both from Warren at the time of the crimes. They have served 21 years of a sentence of 12-to-50 years.
Police said Heltzel was at a home on the city’s East Side and left voluntarily in his car with Bell and Allen the night of his death. Police believe the men decided to rob Heltzel of his wallet, money and jewelry.
Police said Heltzel, 34, was hit in the head during the robbery and was found beside the road at South Street and Pine Avenue Southeast. He died three days later. He was the brother of the late county commissioner Paul Heltzel.
Allen is due for a parole hearing this month.
Watkins wrote a letter last month to Andre Imbrogno, chairman of the Ohio Parole Board, opposing Allen’s release because of Allen’s history of offenses as a juvenile and his poor record while in prison.
Watkins called Allen’s juvenile record “extensive,” with multiple commitments to the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
While in prison, Allen has “refused to participate in programs designed to facilitate his re-entry into society,” Watkins wrote.
“Of the seven programs listed in his records, [Allen] has only completed one. His disciplinary history is simply awful. Twelve guilty infractions just in 2017 and many others in every year since 2011.”
The letter contains six pages of infractions dating back to 2007, many of them for possessing items used to tattoo fellow inmates, being in places where he was not permitted and missing his classes and work assigments.
“Tarik Allen’s prison behavior has gotten worse since this office last wrote in 2012,” Watkins said.
“He clearly shows no respect for authority, rules or education. This man, in my opinion, must be subject to continued incarceration in order to protect society.
Bell will have his next parole hearing in 2020, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections website.