LIMA — Two men with histories of violence were sentenced to prison Monday for shooting people with guns they illegally obtained.
Jaiquavius Carter, 20, pleaded guilty to felonious assault with a gun and improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, both felonies. The prosecution dismissed a count of having a gun under a court sanction and shooting a firearm on or near a prohibited premise, both felonies, in exchange for the plea.
Judge Jeffrey Reed sentenced Carter to six years in prison, which was part of the deal reached with prosecutors.
Carter was involved in a shooting May 11 in the 200 block of West Grand Avenue. No one was hit but witnesses said Carter was among a group of three people when shots were fired at other people in the area.
Allen County Prosecutor Juergen Waldick criticized the Ohio Department of Youth Services after the shooting. A parole officer with the agency testified at an earlier court hearing Carter was given numerous chances, including electronic monitoring, to remain out of prison and screwed up each time.
Carter served time in a prison for children for shooting at two people another time, Waldick said.
Carter was not permitted to have or own a firearm because of his criminal record and age but he somehow illegally obtained one, a prosecutor said.
Cantrell Island III, 38, was sentenced to five years in prison for shooting a man at a Lima bar. He was convicted of felonious assault with a gun. In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors dropped two counts of having a gun under a court sanction and discharging a gun on or near a prohibited premise, all felonies.
Island declined to make a statement in court and the victim was not in court.
The crime happened Jan. 10, when Jeff Simpson placed a pickup order for chicken at the Main Street Pub across from the Allen County Courthouse. Island was working the door collecting the cover charge to get into the bar when an argument began, Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Tony Miller said.
Island told Simpson he needed to pay a cover charge to pick up his food but the 48-year-old Simpson said he only was there to pick up a chicken dinner. The argument escalated and Island shot Simpson in the stomach, Miller said.
Island has a criminal record and was not permitted have a gun, but somehow found a way to illegally obtain a gun, Miller said.
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