Judge tells Nichalous Harvey: "If you hadn't had that gun that day, you would be dead"
CANTON – A convicted felon who once faced a murder charge for fatally shooting a Canton man avoided prison Wednesday and instead will be serving three years of probation for illegally having a gun during their confrontation.
Nichalous D. Harvey, 37, of Canton, learned his fate during a sentencing hearing in Stark County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Chryssa Hartnett said she had given Harvey's punishment much consideration.
Harvey previously pleaded guilty to the sole charge he faced, one count of having weapons under disability. A Stark County grand jury ruled there was insufficient evidence to indict Harvey on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of Aaron Lucas, 29, in August.
The confrontation between Aaron Lucas and Nichalous Harvey
A pre-sentencing investigation done by the court showed Harvey had been shot at during a drive-by shooting on Aug. 7. The person standing next to Harvey during the Belden Avenue drive-by, 65-year-old Jenny Norris, died.
More: Canton police investigating fatal shooting
After the incident, Harvey armed himself for protection, according to the investigation.
Harvey told police he was visiting a family member's home the next day in the 1000 block of 13th Street NW when Lucas approached him outside the home and tried to rob him.
Harvey was shot in the leg by Lucas and returned fire, killing Lucas.
"That whole situation in which you fired a gun in self-defense of yourself was determined to be just that. It was presented to a grand jury and a grand jury did not indict you for causing the harm or the death of that individual," Hartnett said in court.
"The fact is, if you hadn't had the gun that day, you would be dead. You were shot, you would be dead, I have no doubt... had you not been able to defend yourself."
More: Shooting suspect in Aaron Lucas slaying surrenders
More: Aaron Lucas, Canton twins' father, killed, delaying trial for children's shooting suspect
Due to Harvey's previous felony convictions, he was not permitted to have a weapon on Aug. 8.
Defense attorney Ty Graham told the court Harvey took it upon himself to turn himself in, voluntarily sat down with Canton police detectives and gave a full statement as to what occurred.
"Mr. Harvey has been cooperative throughout the course of this case and investigation, taking responsibility for his actions in possessing the firearm from the very first pretrial hearing," Graham told Hartnett before asking probation.
Harvey will serve three years of intensive supervised probation and is barred from having any contact with Lucas' family.
Hartnett ordered Harvey to complete 100 hours of community service, which would be cut in half if Harvey were to provide proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination to help stop community spread, Hartnett said.
Who was Aaron Lucas?
Lucas and his family made headlines when Trejuan C. Johnson and two others shot up the Lucas family's home in July 2020, causing the death of his 18-month-old son, Ace.
At Johnson's trial, several people testified that Lucas had robbed Johnson's brother of marijuana and cash.
Johnson sought revenge, sending bullets into the Clarendon Ave SW home killing Ace, who was asleep on the living room couch with his twin brother, ArCel, who was also injured.
Reach Cassandra cnist@gannett.com; Follow on Twitter @Cassienist
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Nichalous Harvey gets probation for using gun in Aaron Lucas shooting
