LIMA — Valdis Stapleton Jr. turned to the family of the man he was convicted of killing and said he didn’t do it.
“I felt if I were to go to trial I would not win,” he said.
Dwayne Martin looked at Stapleton and asked him who killed his 24-year-old son, Carlton Martin, on June 17, 2014, inside a home at 844 Oak St.
“If I knew who did it, I would tell. Unfortunately, I don’t,” Stapleton said.
Stapleton, 22, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on the charges of involuntary manslaughter with a gun and aggravated burglary. He entered an Alford plea, which allows him to maintain his innocence but plead guilty recognizing prosecutors likely have enough evidence to convict.
Martin told Stapleton he’s been through the criminal justice system and refused to state his name in court telling the judge he has an outstanding warrant, which was enough to get him arrested after the hearing.
“You changed my whole life, forever. I ain’t got him no more. I see you in the newspaper kissing your baby. I can’t kiss my son anymore,” Martin said.
Stapleton told Martin he had a young child who died so he knows the pain Martin is experiencing.
Martin’s mother, Guyzella Daniel, said all she does is cry.
“You hurt me. You hurt this whole family. You hurt your family,” Daniel said.
Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Jana Emerick said Stapleton and another unknown man barged into the house wearing masks. They shot at Martin, killing him, and another man, Eric Irons, who was wounded. Another bullet grazed a woman, she said.
The house was full of children, including a baby, and Stapleton still fired shots, she said.
“The defendant’s acts in this case were brazen, they were purposeful and they were incredibly dangerous,” Emerick said.
Judge Jeffrey Reed also ordered Stapleton pay $2,241 to Daniel for the cost of a cemetery headstone for her son.
The judge also read into the record Stapleton’s criminal record, which included breaking and entering, and a having a concealed firearm as a child, which is illegal because children cannot obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun.
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