YOUNGSTOWN - Two men were sentenced to 26 years each in prison Tuesday for a robbery and shooting on the West Side last November.
Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney handed down the sentences to Sherrick Jackson, 21, of East Judson Avenue, and Dawan Fuller, 19, also of East Judson Avenue, on two counts each of attempted murder and aggravated robbery.
All the charges have specifications that a firearm was used to commit the crime.
Jackson pleaded guilty while Fuller was found guilty at a trial of the robbery and shooting of a man in his Oakwood Avenue apartment. Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Brevetta said the pair knew the man had drugs and cash in his apartment and that the man's mother lived with him. She was shot during the attempted robbery.
Prosecutors offered Jackson a 10-year sentence in exchange for his plea but that offer was withdrawn after Jackson testified for Fuller during his trial in August. Jackson's attorney, Ross Smith, reminded Sweeney of that just before sentencing. Smith said his client decided not to withdraw his plea because he wanted to tell the truth.
Jackson apologized to the court.
''I'm sorry for what I did. I take full responsibility for what I did,'' Jackson said. ''I wanted to protect myself.''
Fuller said he was not even at the shooting and maintained his innocence.
''I continue to fight for my innocence,'' Fuller said. ''I was never even at this crime.''
Brevetta said both men were on probation at the time of the crime and Fuller was sentenced to eight years on a burglary charge for violating his probation. Sweeney made her sentences consecutive to that charge, giving him a total of 35 years in prison.
Both victims were notified of the sentencing but declined to attend, Brevetta said. He said even if one of the victims was involved in the drug trade, that did not give the pair a right to shoot him and someone else.
''There is nothing that allows people to shoot, rob, murder or attempt to murder someone involved in a criminal enterprise,'' Brevetta said.