Appellate court upholds Warren man's murder conviction

WARREN — The 11th District Court of Appeals has upheld the April 2018 conviction and life prison sentence for Shawn Hope in the Dec. 2, 2016, murder of John P. Keller, 42, of Niles in a home on Stephens Avenue Northwest.

Hope, 52, was also convicted of kidnapping Keller’s finance, stealing her van and kidnapping a second woman, who he took back to his hometown of Detroit.

Surveillance video from inside Rocky’s AM/PM Mini Mart, a West Market Street gas station, showed Hope and one of the kidnapping victims shortly after the killing. Keller’s fiance escaped from the van while the two were in the store and got help. Hope, who was also known as Shawn Johnson, will be eligible for parole after serving 44 years.