Man pleads guilty just as murder trial starts
An uncooperative witness led prosecutors to reach a plea agreement on Tuesday with a 19-year-old man just as his murder trial was beginning in a Franklin County courtroom.
Joviyon S. Turner was sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years after he pleaded guilty to murder with a gun specification. The sentence was imposed by Common Pleas Judge Laurel Beatty.
Assistant Prosecutors Daniel Hogan and Daniel Lenert improved their plea offer to Turner during a morning break in the trial, after their key witness failed to show up.
Turner was charged with killing Raheem Dearmond, 22, and seriously wounding Toure Benton, 26, both of whom were shot while sitting in a car in the parking lot of the Demorest Market, 1425 Demorest Road, on June 7.
Benton had told police that Turner was the shooter, but he ignored a subpoena calling for him to testify on Tuesday. Concerned that Benton wasn't going to cooperate, Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Hogan told the judge that a new plea offer had been made to Turner, who accepted it.
Before the trial began, Turner had rejected an offer of 30 years to life in exchange for guilty pleas to aggravated murder and felonious assault, both with gun specifications.
Christopher J. Prater, 22, who was indicted as an accomplice in the case, is scheduled for trial on July 11.
Benton and Dearmond had driven to the West Side market for a pre-arranged meeting at which Turner was to buy drugs from Benton, Lenert told jurors in his opening statement. After Turner and Prater got in the back seat, he said, Turner shot Benton and Dearmond from behind at close range.
Turner and Prater ran away, Lenert said.
Despite being shot twice in the neck, Benton managed to drive the car to a nearby convenience store and ask for help. Dearmond died in the car.
Defense attorney Stephen Wolfe told the jury in his opening statement that Turner's gun discharged accidentally and he didn't intend to harm anyone during the drug deal.
But Lenert said the investigation determined that four shots were fired inside the car, all from the same gun.