Appeal of Warren man convicted of felony assault denied by 11th District Court
A 23-year-old Warren man who was convicted and sentenced to serve 25½ to 29½ years in prison for his part in the wounding of a 9-year-old Warren girl struck by a stray bullet while she was asleep in on a couch in her Kenilworth Avenue Southeast home had his appeal of conviction and sentence denied by Ohio’s 11th District Appellate Court.
In a decision released April 29, Judge Robert J. Patton, joined by colleague Judges Eugene A. Lucci and Matt Lynch, affirmed the conviction of Say’Quan Parks who was convicted on two counts of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation five counts of felonious assault, all with firearm specifications, and another count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
The charges dealt with an incident on June 18, 2023, where the defendant fired a 9-millimeter handgun at another man in the parking lot of the Big Apple convenience store on Youngstown Road Southeast in Warren. At least 23 shots were fired, the report stated, striking a nearby white Volkswagen Passant almost striking a woman who was in the vehicle. The shots also entered the Kenilworth Avenue home where it struck the 9-year-old in the right forearm causing extensive damage to her bones. The shots also narrowly missed two other females in that residence and another female in a neighboring home.
What was the appeal about?
In his appeal, Parks claimed the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice was excessive and unreasonable. In the 11th District Court ruling, Judge Patton wrote: “Upon review of the record in this case, the record supports the trial court’s determination. The individually imposed sentences were within the statutory guidelines … the trial court made the required findings to impose consecutive sentences. Accordingly, the appellant’s sole assignment of error is without merit.”
Parks will remain incarcerated in Lake Erie Correctional Institution.
Arguing the appeal for the state was Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Sanders.
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