Court roundup: Abuse victim says son was protecting her when her abuser fatally shot him

Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch
·4 min read
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Robert M. Muncy, 47, right, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Carl Aveni to an indefinite prison term of 10 years to 15 years for his Sept. 12, 2023, guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter to avoid a trial on murder charges for fatally shooting 26-year-old Brandon Williams on Oct. 30, 2020, outside a home on Columbus' South Side. Sarah Paxton Ballard, left, and Mike W. Morgan, right, were Munch's Franklin County Public Defense attorneys,

Three Columbus men have been sentenced to prison for unrelated fatal shootings in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, and a Dayton man was convicted of murder for another deadly shooting in Columbus.

Man sentenced for shooting ex-girlfriend’s adult son

Robert M. Muncy, 47, faced sentencing Friday for killing 26-year-old Brandon Williams, the son of his ex girlfriend, on Oct. 30, 2020, outside a home on the South Side.

Stephanie Ramirez, Williams’ mother, said during the sentencing hearing Friday that Muncy was abusing her, and her son was trying to protect her.

“Robert murdered my son, not over a fender bender as reported by the media, but for my son witnessing that man threatening my life, blocking the driveway off where my vehicle was. That man jumped out of his vehicle, displaying a gun, coming toward my vehicle and bashing the gun into my door window, attempting to get at me,” Ramirez said through tears.

Ramirez said her son was trying to divert Muncy’s anger toward him when he drove a car into Muncy’s pickup truck.

The altercation ended with Muncy shooting Williams in the back.

Muncy pleaded guilty on Sept. 12 to voluntary manslaughter to avoid a trial on murder charges. On the same day, he pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge for an incident on July 2, 2020 in which Ramirez was the victim.

Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Keith McGrath said during the sentencing hearing that crucial witnesses did not show up to testify at trial, and that is why prosecutors had to make this plea deal.

Common Pleas Judge Carl Aveni sentenced Muncy on Friday to an indefinite prison term of 10 years to 15 years, as jointly recommended by prosecutors and Muncy’s defense attorneys. Muncy has spent nearly 2½ years in jail, which will count toward his prison sentence.

Sarah Paxton Ballard, a Franklin County Public Defense attorney representing Muncy, said Muncy feels guilty about the shooting.

“He has never suggested to me or anyone else that he is blameless for what happened that day,” Ballard said.

Hassan Abdalla, 20, center, was sentenced Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Kin Brown to one-and-a-half years in prison for his previous guilty plea to negligent homicide and tampering with evidence in the fatal April 23, 2023, shooting of his friend, Said Arbo. According to prosecutors, the friends were playing around with a gun at a Wedgewood Village apartment on the city's West Side. Michael E. Morgan, a Franklin County Public Defense attorney, left, and county prosecutors said the magazine was removed and Abdalla didn't think the gun was loaded.

Man sentenced for negligent homicide at Wedgewood apartment

Hassan Abdalla, was sentenced on Friday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Kim Brown to 1½ years in prison for the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Said Arbo on April 23 that, according to prosecutors, was a terrible accident.

Abdalla, 20, pleaded guilty on Sept. 7 to negligent homicide and tampering with evidence for disposing of the gun and could have faces up to three years in prison at sentencing. He has already spent more than five months in jail, which will count toward his prison sentence.

Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Ryan Pfefferle told The Dispatch the two friends were playing with a gun while making a video inside a Wedgewood Village apartment on the city’s West Side. The magazine was removed from the gun, Pfefferle said, but Abdalla didn’t realize there was a bullet in the chamber when he picked it up and mistakenly shot Arbo.

Abdalla fled the apartment with the gun, but called the police later the same day. He told police he was nearby on Briggs Road, and wanted to turn himself in.

Michael E. Morgan, a Franklin County Public Defense attorney representing Abdalla, said this shooting was traumatic for Abdalla, who lost a longtime friend.

Arbo’s family was not happy with the outcome of the case.

“My son is dead and he’s not coming back,” Arbo’s mother said through a Somali interpreter during the victim impact portion of the sentencing hearing.

East Side man sentenced for argument-turned-shooting

Cardell McGhee Jr., 21, of the East Side, pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting 34-year-old Talynn M. Key on Aug. 29, 2021. The two men had argued outside Key’s home on Berrell Avenue on the Northeast Side before Columbus police say McGhee shot Key in the torso.

Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Karen Phipps sentenced McGhee to an indefinite prison term of eight years to 10 ½ years, as jointly recommended by prosecutors and McGhee’s defense attorney.

Murder trial ends with guilty verdict

On Thursday, a jury convicted 51-year-old Bruce Cameron of murder for fatally shooting 42-year-old Dion Skipper on April 4, 2021. The two Dayton men had fought at a motel on the Northeast Side when Cameron produced a gun and shot Skipper.

After the shooting, Cameron stole a pickup truck at gunpoint, according to police. The jury also convicted Skipper of aggravated robbery.

Judge Brown also found Skipper guilty of having a weapon under disability (possessing a gun when he was not legally able to) for a previous felony conviction.

Brown is scheduled to sentence Cameron on Oct. 5. He faces life in prison.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 Columbus men sentenced for shootings, Dayton man convicted of murder