Akron man is convicted in shootings of his former girlfriend and her 5-year-old daughter
An Akron man laughed Tuesday afternoon as he heard a Summit County judge read guilty verdicts against him for the shootings of his former girlfriend and her 5-year-old daughter.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands, who heard Christopher Mason's case in a bench trial, found him guilty on all counts, which included murder and attempted murder.
Mason, 39, of Akron, faces life in prison when he is sentenced by Rowlands on Aug. 21.
Mason waived his right to a jury trial. His bench trial began Monday and wrapped up with closing arguments Tuesday afternoon.
Mason, who claimed self-defense, chose not to testify.
Rowlands found Mason guilty of two counts each of murder, attempted murder and felonious assault, and one count each of endangering children and having weapons while under disability. This is a charge that means a person was prohibited from having a weapon.
All the charges besides the weapons and endangering offenses included gun specifications that carry with them additional prison time.
Shootings follow fight, prosecutors say
Mason was arrested in the shootings of Allison Dinkins, his former girlfriend, and her daughter shortly before 8 p.m. New Year’s Eve in an apartment in the 1300 block of Brittain Road.
Officers found Dinkins, 38, unresponsive with gunshot wounds and her daughter with a gunshot wound.
More: Christopher Mason arrested by U.S. Marshals in shooting death of Allison Dinkins
Assistant Prosecutor Joe McAleese said in his opening statement that officers responded to Dinkins’ apartment after hearing gunshots and the screams of a young girl. He said Dinkins’ daughter told police that Mason killed her mom and hurt her.
McAleese said Ring Camera videos shortly after the shooting showed Mason leaving the apartment with his dog and shutting the door, with the girl screaming for her mother.
McAleese said Mason walked to a neighbor’s house, where he told his neighbor, “I had to shoot that b**** and had to shoot the kid as well. Pop. Pop. Pop.”
McAleese acknowledged that Mason and Dinkins had relationship issues and were fighting that night. But, he said, Mason was the one with a knife and a gun that he used to shoot both Dinkins and her daughter “to prevent her words from ever entering this courtroom.”
“He took an argument and turned it into violence,” McAleese said.
Mason claims he was trying to protect himself
Erik Jones, Mason’s attorney, though, said in his opening statement that his client acted in self-defense.
“This was his only course of action to survive,” Jones said.
Jones said much of the testimony during the trial wouldn't be relevant for Mason’s self-defense claim because it would not pertain to what happened in the apartment on the day of the shooting. He asked Rowlands not to be swayed by this testimony, pictures or other evidence.
“That’s why we chose to have this tried to the bench,” Jones said.
With a recent change to Ohio’s law, Jones said the burden would be on the state to disprove Mason acted in self-defense.
“That is the starting point,” Jones said. “I think after careful analysis — and an understanding of the legal obligations — the state will not meet its burden.”
Neighbors call 911 after hearing girl screaming for her mother
Officer Travis Sheely, one of first of officers to arrive at the scene of the shooting, testified that the door of Dinkins’ apartment was open. He said they found Dinkins unresponsive and her daughter beside her with a bloody face.
“He killed my mama,” the girl told the officers.
Sheely said the girl told them that Chris, her mother's ex-boyfriend, had shot her mother and hurt her. He said he carried the girl to the front of the apartment development to meet the paramedics.
Prosecutors played a body-worn camera video that showed Sheely and another officer arriving at the apartment, making sure no one was inside and then talking to Dinkins’ daughter.
A neighbor of Dinkins, who asked not to be identified because of safety concerns, said he heard gunshots and initially thought they might be fireworks. He said he and his fiancée then heard a little girl’s screams.
He said he knocked on the door of the apartment but got no response. He and his fiancée then called 911.
Prosecutors played the man’s Ring Camera video that showed a man leaving his neighbor’s apartment with his dog.
The man said he would sometimes see Dinkins leaving for work but didn’t know her, her daughter or Mason.
Daughter who was shot isn’t permitted to testify
Rowlands had a competency hearing Monday to determine if Dinkins’ daughter should be permitted to testify. She did this by video at the request of prosecutors.
Under Ohio law, children under 10 are considered incompetent if they “appear incapable of receiving just impressions of the facts and transactions respecting which they are examined.”
After talking to the girl, Rowlands ruled that she could not testify.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Summit judge finds Christopher Mason guilty in double shooting
