Warren man’s sentence, conviction is upheld after firing shots at police during 2020 chase
The Warren man convicted of firing shots at police during an October 2020 police chase had his appeal denied on Aug. 7 by the 11th District Court of Appeals.
11th District Judges John J. Eklund, Matthew Lynch, and Eugene A. Lucci upheld the 36- to 40-year prison sentence handed down to Mehki Walker, 23.
What charges was Mehki Walker was convicted for?
A jury had earlier convicted Walker of two counts of attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.
The jurors also found him guilty of discharging a firearm at a peace officer. This specification had earned him an additional seven years in prison.
Testimony showed a police cruiser tried to pull over Walker’s vehicle after a stop sign violation on Warren’s northwest side. In the ensuing chase, shots were fired at a Warren police cruiser and a Trumbull County sheriff’s cruiser, where a bullet whizzed past the deputy who was driving.
What were the grounds of Mehki Walker’s appeal?
In his appeal, Walker’s attorney listed six potential errors, including a charge that a potentially tainted juror was used because they knew Walker’s family. Another seated juror said he lived near where the shooting occurred.
The appeals court found impartial jurors did not harm the case. The court also ruled that evidence against the defendant was sound and he was represented by effective counsel, despite claims to the contrary by the defendant.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Sanders argued the case before the appeals panel. Walker is currently incarcerated at Mansfield Correctional Institution.
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