Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office files objections in three parole cases

John Glenn

Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova filed objections urging the Ohio Parole Board to deny parole to Inmate John Glenn, who was convicted of the aggravated murder of Mahoning County Reserve Deputy Sheriff John “Sonny” Litch, Jr., and was sentenced to death. Glenn’s death sentence was overturned on appeal and he received a sentence of thirty years to life.

John “Sonny” Litch worked as a Reserve Deputy with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, a position for which he earned no salary. The use of volunteer reserve deputies was every day during this time due to a lack of staffing and financial issues caused by budget cuts.

Deputy Litch also served as a career firefighter with the City of Campbell Fire Department. He had a wife and two children.

On Oct. 22, 1981, Deputy Litch was assigned to transport Inmate Robert Glenn from the Mahoning County Jail to a medical appointment and then back to the Jail.

Unbeknownst to Deputy Litch, Robert Glenn’s half-brother, John Glenn, devised a plan to cause the “escape” during his medical transport. While en route, Deputy Litch stopped his vehicle at a traffic light when his car was struck from the rear by another vehicle. After being hit, Deputy Litch exited his squad car and started to walk toward the car that struck him.

As Deputy Litch approached the door of the other car, he was ambushed by Defendant Glenn, who shot him at point-blank range. While Deputy Litch lay dying in the street, Robert Glenn left Litch’s cruiser and entered Defendant Glenn’s vehicle and they drove off.

The following evidence was developed at trial:

• The description of the vehicle which struck Deputy Litch’s patrol car, as transmitted by police dispatchers, was consistent with the description given by eyewitnesses and matched that of the car Defendant Glenn was driving the day in question.
• Various descriptions of the car’s occupants and their attire matched Defendant Glenn and his half-brother, Robert.
• Defendant Glenn spoke with two witnesses concerning his plans to effectuate Robert’s escape.
• Ottis Simmons, one of these particular witnesses, testified that he learned of Glenn’s plan to “escape his brother” before the killing when Glenn attempted to buy a car and borrow a gun from Simmons for this purpose.
• Alseen Lanier testified that at her home during the night following the killing of Deputy Litch, Defendant Glenn admitted to her that he perpetrated the shooting of Deputy Litch.
• Michael Pippin testified that Defendant Glenn and his half-brother, Robert, left a shotgun at Pippin’s house the same afternoon after the shooting.
• Pippin also stated that Defendant Glenn left a car at the Pippin residence and that said car matched the description of the vehicle Defendant Glenn borrowed that morning and matched the description of the car determined to have been involved at the scene of the killing.
• A set of coveralls similar to those worn by the Mahoning County jail inmates was found in the car left by Defendant Glenn at the Pippin residence.
• Deposits, which were consistent with gunshot residue, were detected on Defendant Glenn’s hands and clothing.
• Wadding found in the victim’s body was consistent with Remington 12 gauge number five shotshells.
• The weapon found in the Glenn car was a 12 gauge shotgun with one spent Remington number five shot shell.
• Blood samples taken from the victim’s body matched blood scrapings found on the driver’s side of the car. Comparing the samples, experts were able to eliminate 99.83% of the population as the source of the blood.

Prosecutor Gina DeGenova objected to Glenn’s release, arguing that no circumstances justify the release of Glenn now or in the future. While Glenn has served over 40 years of his life sentence, releasing Defendant Glenn back into society would not further the interest of justice nor be consistent with the welfare and security of society.

“Defendant Glenn’s callous and senseless act deprived Deputy Litch from a lifetime of memories with his family and future grandchildren for whom he would never meet.”

Johnny Lynn

Prosecutor Gina DeGenova objected to the release of Inmate Johnny Lynn, who is up for parole in November 2023. Inmate Lynn was convicted of murder by a jury of his peers in September 1996, for which he received a sentence of 15 years to life.

Inmate Lynn had a history of criminal activity spanning over three states. According to his criminal history report, Lynn was convicted of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, assault on a peace officer, carrying a dangerous knife, theft, escape and burglary while residing in various jurisdictions within the states of Indiana and Michigan. He eventually relocated to Ohio, where he murdered Tonya Evett North over $8.

Inmate Lynn, also known as “Tiny” and Tonya Evett North, were acquaintances in the same neighborhood. North occasionally sold drugs to Lynn. On July 3, 1996, Lynn and North argued over money relating to a drug transaction. The dispute allegedly was over the amount of $8. After the argument, North went to her home and Lynn went to his brother’s home. Later that day, Lynn and North ran into each other and ended up in a physical altercation. During that time, Lynn fatally stabbed North. Police were called and began looking for Lynn, who was found shortly after that hiding in his basement and was arrested. A bloody knife was recovered five feet from where he was found.

On July 3, 1996, the Mahoning County Grand Jury indicted Inmate Lynn for aggravated murder. During trial, witnesses confirmed that Lynn planned to kill North after she failed to give him the money he requested, even telling one witness that North wouldn’t make it see July 4. Moreover, after he was arrested, Lynn admitted to killing North.

Ultimately, Lynn was convicted of murder, a lesser included offense. On Sept. 25, 1996, the trial court sentenced Lynn to a mandatory indefinite term of 15 years to life.

Prosecutor DeGenova filed objections to Lynn’s release, stating, “no factors justify Inmate Lynn’s release at this time. Lynn has a history of violent criminal activity culminating in the vicious and senseless murder of an acquaintance over $8.

Lynn’s history demonstrates an inability to conform to societal norms and laws, and his time in prison demonstrates similar conduct.”

According to Lynn’s Institutional Report Summary, he has done little to improve his life. Since arriving at the ODRC in 1996, Lynn has completed few programs, yet he was frequently disciplined for rule infractions. Accordingly, the brutality of Lynn’s crime, coupled with his failure to make productive use of his time in prison, proves that releasing Lynn at this time would not further the interest of justice nor be consistent with the welfare and security of society.

Shawn Rozier

Criminal Division Chief Ralph Rivera objected to the release of Inmate Shawn Rozier, who is up for parole in November 2023. Inmate Rozier is serving a 28 years to life sentence for the murder of Kristi Gardner.

Rozier and two women, Maria Rivera and Kristi Gardner, exchanged stolen clothing for crack cocaine. Subsequently, on the evening of Dec. 16, 1995, Rivera and Gardner were left alone in Rozier’s apartment on West Philadelphia in Youngstown, where they took back some of the clothes that they had earlier traded to Rozier. The two women took the clothes and traded them for more crack cocaine from another drug dealer.

After trading the clothes, Rivera and Gardner returned to Rozier’s apartment in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 1995. Having learned what the two women did, Rozier forced the women into his apartment, assaulted them with his gun, and held the gun to Rivera’s head,

threatening her. Rozier then put the gun to Gardner’s head and shot her. Afterward, Rozier forced Rivera to drag Gardner from his apartment to an empty garage across the street, where he shot Gardner again. Rozier fired several shots at Rivera, but she was able to escape.

Youngstown police found Gardner, who was still alive and followed a blood trail to Rozier’s apartment across the street. When Rozier answered his door and observed the officers, he immediately fled. Inside Rozier’s apartment, police found blood, a bloody mop and bucket, and a .44 caliber revolver.

On Dec. 22, 1995, Gardner died as a result of her gunshot wounds to her head and lower back. Rozier turned himself in on Jan. 11, 1996.

After a trial by jury, Rozier was convicted of murder with a Firearm Specification, Tampering with Evidence, and Felonious Assault with a Firearm Specification. He was sentenced to 28 years to life.

According to Chief Rivera, “since Defendant’s placement in the DRC’s custody in June 6, 1996, his Institutional Summary Report reveals that he has been an ongoing disciplinary problem; Defendant had 18 rules infractions from April 2007 through June 2023, with 13 of those infractions occurring in the past 10 years. Defendant’s history in the DRC provides no assurances that he will follow the rules of his release and laws of this State if he is paroled.” Rivera further noted that Rozier “engaged in physical altercations with other inmates on June 16, 2023, Jan. 4, 2020, and Aug. 28, 2015” and “. . . has been caught with contraband six times, disobeyed direct orders on two occasions, caught with illegal narcotics three times, and tested positive for marijuana. While some of his infractions appear minor, they show his unwillingness to obey the institutions’ rules and regulations.”

Rivera argued if Rozier cannot obey the rules and regulations while incarcerated, the Parole Board cannot trust and expect him to obey the laws of this State once he’s released into society.

The Ohio Parole Board will render a decision on these matters after they conduct hearings in November 2023.

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