Man found guilty of murder in West Side death
Sentencing date not set
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Rae’venne Faircloth-Thomas was killed on a dark, rainy day. Much like Friday when a jury found the man accused of killing her guilty of her death.
Dashonti Baker, 26, was found guilty of murder in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for the June 23, 2017, shooting death of Faircloth-Thomas. She was found shot to death in an SUV on Oneta Street on the West Side.
Jurors deliberated about three hours Thursday and two hours Friday before reaching their verdicts.
Jurors did find Baker not guilty of aggravated murder, which means they did not find he had a premeditated plan to kill her.
He was also found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Judge Anthony Donofrio did not set a sentencing date. Baker faces a mandatory sentence of 18 years to life in prison, with 15 to life for murder and an additional three years because a firearm was used in the Faircloth-Thomas’ death.
Just minutes after Faircloth-Thomas was killed, the crime scene was caught in a rainstorm which fluctuated between a deluge and a steady downpour. Police had to shield the SUV from the rain with tarps and blankets borrowed from neighbors and umbrellas so it could stay dry as possible.
Afterward, the victim’s family held an impromptu praise and worship session in the waiting area of the Victim/Witness Office in the basement of the courthouse. Virginia Faircloth, the mother of the victim, was in tears as she was surrounded by family and addressed the media, saying the day was a bittersweet one.
“Nobody really won,” Faircloth said. “I don’t have my daughter, and I can’t have her back, but nobody won because his family also will lose the physical presence of their loved one. But they can visit him. We have to go to a graveyard.”
Prosecutors said Faircloth-Thomas was killed because of a property dispute with Baker. The victim’s mother said what hurts even more is how close Baker was to her and her daughter. She said they would address each other as “brother” and “sister.”
An aunt of the victim’s, Leerona Anderson, said they trusted in their faith that Baker would be convicted. They were especially worried because in 2015 Baker was acquitted of shooting a man in the head on South Avenue.
“We put this in God’s hands,” Anderson said. “We don’t wish bad for anybody. We just wish for justice for her because she can’t stand up for herself.”
The father of Faircloth-Thomas, Julius Thomas, said he still has questions, such as why Baker had to shoot his daughter in the head six times.
Police and prosecutors said Baker was linked to the crime because of a distinctive car witnesses saw at the crime scene that was later found at the Millet Avenue home Baker shared with a co-defendant, Barraya Hickson, 26, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice. The car had a missing back window covered with a blanket as well as a missing hubcap and a dent in a door. A city police officer was familiar with the car and found it at the home.
Baker told police he had not driven the car that day, but officers found video that showed it heading to the crime scene just minutes before Faircloth-Thomas was killed. Baker also said he had not fired a gun, but he tested positive for gunshot residue.