Lawyers seek new sentencing for teen

Lawyers seek new sentencing for teen

URBANA

An Ohio teenager who shot and wounded a classmate at school and was sentenced to 23 years in prison has filed an appeal for a new sentencing.

Lawyers for Ely Serna said in court documents the trial court judge erred in giving their client the maximum sentence for the 2017 shooting, reported The Springfield News-Sun.

The attorneys said Serna was depressed at the time of the shooting and showed remorse for his actions, and the judge didn’t take his age into account during sentencing.

Serna’s attorneys also said the judge researched the drug Vyvanse online and determined the teen’s psychotic state was due to him voluntarily taking the medication.

Serna was 17 when he brought a shotgun to West Liberty-Salem High School in West Liberty and shot a student twice, leaving him critically wounded.

Serna also shot at a teacher and into classrooms.

He later pleaded guilty to attempted murder, felonious assault and inducing panic. He told the court he didn’t have a particular motive or target.

Fire burns inside vessel on Lake Erie

OREGON

A fire continues to burn inside a Lake Erie docked vessel as Ohio firefighters try to cool the ship in an incident with no injuries.

The fire broke out on the deck of the St. Clair on Saturday night at the Port of Toledo in northern Ohio. The cause is still undetermined.

Denny Hartman is chief of the fire department in Oregon, Ohio. He said Sunday morning that the fire apparently burned through the deck and ignited an enormous rubber conveyor belt below.

Hartman likened the conditions to a tire fire, which are notoriously difficult to put out.

Progressive, The Q to get $9M renovation

CLEVELAND

Officials have approved more than $9 million in improvements to Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field.

Cleveland.com reports the nonprofit that enforces the sports teams’ leases, Gateway Development Corp., approved the spending last week.

The upgrades are being funded through revenue from taxes on beer, wine, liquor and cigarettes.

Plans for Quicken Loans Arena include replacing parts of the ice floor, making restrooms compliant with the American with Disabilities Act and replacing lighting.

As for Progressive Field, upgrades include renovating suites and replacing outdoor escalators.

The price tag for the work on Quicken Loans Arena comes to $7.7 million, while the Progressive Field upgrades total about $2 million.

Statehouse garage repair costs going up

COLUMBUS,

The chief of the agency overseeing the Ohio Statehouse says a planned renovation of the building’s garage may be more extensive than first anticipated.

Laura Battocletti is executive director of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. She said at a meeting last week that ceilings and floors on the bottom two floors of the three-level garage are worse off than even a few months ago.

Gongwer news service reports that lawmakers set aside $20 million for the project last year but there’s no final cost estimate, especially with the discovery of new problems.

The garage renovation is considered the biggest Statehouse update since a complete renovation in the 1990s.

Associated Press

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The project could take two years to complete, with one level shut down at a time.