Man sentenced for involuntary manslaughter could be out of jail by Christmas
Nov. 29—WELCH — With credit for days in jail since his arrest last year and time off for good behavior, a man sentenced Tuesday for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and their unborn child could be released by Christmas.
Jhamel Scott Jr., 24, of Welch was facing two charges of first-degree murder after the April 8, 2022 shooting death of his girlfriend, 20-year-old Summer Robinette at their Stewart Street home. Robinette was 23 weeks pregnant at the time.
A jury found Scott guilty Nov. 2 on two counts of involuntary manslaugher Circuit Court Judge Edward Kornish told the jurors while giving them their instructions that they could consider verdicts including first-degree murder without mercy and first-degree murder with a recommendation of mercy. With mercy, Scott would serve 15 years of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, but parole is not guaranteed. Second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaugher as well as finding Scott not guilty were among the other verdicts the jury could have considered.
After listening Tuesday to impassioned statements from Robinette's family, Judge Kornish sentenced Scott to the maximum penalty of a year in jail for each count. Running them consecutively, this gave Scott a two-year sentence. The judge also ordered Scott to pay a $2,000 fine plus court costs. It was the highest sentence allowable by law. In West Virginia, involuntary manslaughter is a misdemeanor.
Before passing sentence, Judge Kornish gave Scott, Robinette's family and the attorneys on both sides of the case an opportunity to speak.
Prosecuting Attorney Brittany Puckett, a former teacher, said she knew Summer Robinette before joining the legal profession. She told the court that she plans to go to the Legislature about passing a bill which would increase the penalties for acts like the ones Scott was convicted of committing.
"She was one of the students at Sandy River Middle when I taught school before practicing law, so I knew Summer quite well for several years," Puckett said after the hearing.
"I plan to seek the Legislature to have wanton endangerment added as to one felonies that could be added to the felony murder rule," Puckett said. "It still would be the same penalty as first-degree murder under felony murder, which is a different way to prove it. If someone was killed in the commission of a felony then it would be a felony murder. We'll see what happens."
Under the law, Scott received credit for the time he's served in jail since his arrest in 2022. He will also get time taken off from his sentence for good behavior while he is in jail.
"So it's a year on each count, so two years since (the judge) ran them consecutively. You get day-per-day credit in the regional jail system, so he's looking at a year. He's got 348 days credit, so he's looking at probably 20 more days give or take. He'll discharge it in 25 more days. He'll discharge it in less than a month," Puckett said.
Members of Robinette's family addressed the court. Often in tears, they told Scott about the pain he had inflicted on their family and on Robinette's young son. The child was at the home the night of the shooting. Scott sometimes hung his head as they spoke.
"She was like a daughter to me," said Sarah Andrigo, who said Summer was her daughter-in-law. "Summer was so special. When she walked into a room she lit it up."
Summer's son still cries for his mother, Andrigo told Scott.
"It's so not fair that he lost everything," she said through tears. "But now he doesn't have to fear you anymore. He doesn't have to see you."
Summer's sister, Savannah Robinette, said Summer was not only her sister, but her best friend as well.
"She was the other beat of my heart," Robinette told Scott and the court, adding, "She was the only one who could make me laugh so hard I could cry."
Savannah Robinette added that her sister's unborn child was cheated out of life and told Scott that he has never shown remorse for his actions. Instead of helping Summer choose baby clothes, the family had to prepare her for her funeral instead.
Summer's mother Djuna Justice said she was not her daughter's biological mother, but she had cared for Summer since she was 2-weeks old.
"When I picked her up, the whole world stopped," Justice recalled. "God said this is the reason I put you on this Earth, so you could take care of her and protect her."
During the trial, Scott could be heard crying when he called the McDowell County 911 Center.
"He cried on 911 when he killed her," Justice said. "I had to put my baby in the ground with her baby still in her...he has to stand before the Lord on Judgement Day."
Scott declined to make a statement.
Before pronouncing sentence, Judge Kornish told Scott that the deaths of Summer Robinette and her unborn child were "senseless, graphic deaths," but the jury "cut you a break and gave you the benefit of the doubt and found you guilty of involuntary manslaughter."
Scott wears a prosthetic leg due to an injury which resulted in a $1 million court settlement, Kornish said. He used some of the money to help his family, but much of it was wasted, too.
Judge Kornish asked Scott's attorney, R. Keith Flinchum, whether he was hired by Scott to represent him or appointed by the court. Flinchum replied that he was appointed. Attorneys are appointed when defendants cannot afford to hire one.
"How many cars can a person drive?" Kornish asked Scott. "How many guns did you need to have? If it was in my power, you would not own a single gun now or ever again."
Kornish also referred to Scott's artificial leg and recalled how he attributed some of the responsibility to an artificial leg that didn't work very well. Kornish said he knew other people who had lost limbs, but coped much better than Scott because they acquired artificial limbs that fitted them properly. Scott had had the money to purchase a better prosthetic leg.
"There's no excuse for you not for not having a good prosthetic," Kornish told him, later telling him that he found it "incomprehsible" that he did not have a gun safe and kept loaded firearms around his home.
The sentence included a $2,000 fine plus court costs. Kornish also ordered that Scott undergo a gun safety class after being released and warned that if he fails to do this, he could be found in contempt of court.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
