Paul Curtis will be sentenced at a later date after pleading guilty Monday to the murder of Lima resident Sam McLaurin in November of 2021.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A 33-year-old Lima man faces the possibility of life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to murder in the 2021 fatal shooting of Sam McLaurin.
Paul Curtis Jr. accepted a deal from prosecutors during an appearance in Allen County Common Pleas Court and pleaded guilty to murder, an unclassified felony that included a three-year specification for the use of a firearm. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting two correction officers at the county jail. In exchange for those pleas, prosecutors agreed to dismiss an unrelated drug charge and to jointly recommend a prison sentence of 19 years-to-life.
Judge Jeffrey Reed said he would abide by the recommendation when Curtis is sentenced at a later date. The judge had intended to proceed directly to sentencing on Monday but reversed course when a relative of McLaurin’s said other family members wanted to be present at the sentencing. Reed said they have the legal right to be in attendance.
Curtis, now 33, was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges 13 months ago in connection with the shooting death of McLaurin, 53, outside a residence on Lima’s South Baxter Street on Nov. 30, 2021.
McLaurin was shot approximately 18 times, according to testimony from Detective Matt Boss of the Lima Police Department during an earlier probable cause hearing in Lima Municipal Court.
Curtis was located several blocks away from the crime scene and was taken into custody. He was out of jail on bond at the time of the shooting following his indictment in December of 2020 on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of a fentanyl-related compound and two counts of having weapons under disability.
Those charges were dismissed Monday as part of the negotiated plea deal.
On the night of McLaurin’s death, law enforcement officials used the GPS ankle monitor tracking device worn by Curtis to trace his movements after McLaurin was shot. While following his route, a 9 mm handgun was found that appeared to be a match for spent cartridges found at the murder scene, Boss testified.
Curtis also was convicted through his guilty plea of two counts of assault, felonies of the fifth degree, related to an altercation with corrections officers inside the Allen County jail. He was sentenced to a total of 12 months for those charges, to be served consecutively to the murder and gun specification sentences.
Curtis was represented at Monday’s hearing by attorney James Owen. Interim Allen County Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell represented the State of Ohio.
