Two men sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court for separate, unrelated homicides
Two men have been sentenced in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in connection with unrelated fatal shootings while murder charges against two other men have been dropped.
Richard Schoonover, 50, of Columbus' West Side, pleaded guilty on Monday to involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder and illegally possessing a gun in connection with the fatal 2022 shooting of 52-year-old Robert Lester in the city’s Hilltop neighborhood.
In exchange, Franklin County prosecutors dropped murder and other charges.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Brown immediately sentenced Schoonover to 19 years in prison.
Around 11:35 p.m. on July 25, 2022, Columbus police responded to the 1900 block of West Broad Street after a report of a shooting in the area. At the scene, there was evidence of a shooting, but no victim.
Police soon after found Lester, of the Northeast Side, with gunshot wounds in a vehicle near the intersection of East Livingston and Fairwood avenues. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A woman who was in the vehicle was not injured. In court documents, police said Schoonover pulled up to Lester’s car, shouted at the occupants and began firing at them.
Schoonover may have attempted to purchase marijuana earlier using a fake $100 bill, police said in court records.
“Some of the factual issues around intent made this case difficult for both the prosecution and the defense,” said Mark Collins, Schoonover’s defense attorney. “ The jointly recommended sentence is a very fair resolution which will allow the victim’s family to start the healing process.”
Dublin man sentenced for fatally shooting friend
A Dublin man will spend at least a dozen years in prison after taking a plea deal in the Jan. 2 shooting death of his former friend and roommate after an argument at a restaurant on Columbus' Northeast Side.
Abdulbasid Ahmed, 20, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Hassan Hassan, 22, of the Northeast Side. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Bill Sperlazza immediately sentenced Ahmed to 12 to 16 ½ years in prison, with credit for 193 days already served in jail, as agreed upon by the prosecution and the defense.
Hassan's father, Ahmed Gure, sat with Abdulbasid Ahmed's father during the hearing and asked Sperlazza for compassion and forgiveness for his son's killer, prosecutors noted.
Two counts of murder, tampering with evidence and carrying a concealed weapon were dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea on the involuntary manslaughter charge.
Columbus police homicide detectives charged Ahmed with fatally shooting Hassan around 6:55 p.m. Jan. 2 outside Safina World Restaurant, 4431 Cleveland Ave. After an argument inside the restaurant, prosecutors allege Ahmed went outside and got into his SUV.
When Hassan came out and began walking away, Ahmed got out and shot him in the back, detectives said.
Ahmed said he was afraid that Hassan, who also had a gun, was going to shoot him, prosecutors said.
More court news: Former Marine testified he was defending his neighbors. Jury finds him guilty of murder.
Charges in two murder cases dropped by prosecutors
Two Columbus men previously charged with murder in unrelated cases are no longer facing charges at the request of the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
If new evidence is found or witnesses are located, prosecutors say either man could be reindicted for murder, which has no statute of limitations under Ohio law.
Forrest Hayden Smith, 39, of Columbus' South Side, was previously charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and other charges in connection with the fatal shooting of 33-year-old Carlton Stonewall Jackson on Aug. 29, 2019 on the city’s Northeast Side.
After prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the case, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook dismissed the case without prejudice against Forrest Smith on June 12.
Forrest Smith’s defense attorney, Larry Thomas, said Smith feels exonerated.
“He’s happy that the charges were dismissed because he’s always maintained his innocence,” Thomas said.
Taashan Smith, 26, of Columbus' Northeast Side, was previously charged with one count of murder in connection with the shooting death of 26-year-old Keshawna Ximines on Jan. 30, 2021.
The Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office filed an entry earlier this month to "nolle prosequi" the case against Taashan Smith. Nolle prosequi is a Latin phrase and essentially means the prosecutors will not pursue the case at this time, so the criminal case was terminated.
In that entry, First Assistant Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Janet Grubb said, “the state of Ohio lacks sufficient evidence with which to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
More court news: Columbus man sentenced for killing 14-year-old while messing around with mom's gun
Nathaniel Shuda, of The Dispatch, contributed to this report.
jlaird@dispatch.com
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sentencings issued in two separate, unrelated Columbus killings
