A 19-year-old Akron man is guaranteed to spend almost as long in prison as he’s been alive.
Fred Taylor was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with possible of parole after 18 years for the shooting death of his friend, Javon Knaff, last May.
As Taylor stood before Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands before his sentencing, he continued to proclaim his innocence. Taylor, who turned down a plea offer from prosecutors that would have netted him less time behind bars, said he took a gamble because he thought he could prevail in trial.
“I lost a friend and I’m losing my life,” he said. “I feel like I was cheated.”
Taylor, though, said he hopes he can win his appeal.
A Summit County jury found Taylor guilty Friday of murder, felonious assault and having a weapon while under disability, which means he had a weapon when he shouldn’t have because of a prior criminal conviction. The jury found him not guilty of a murder charge that means to “purposely cause the death” of another.
Prosecutors say Taylor shot Knaff three times last Memorial Day during a cookout at an Akron apartment complex. Taylor’s attorneys claimed other similarly dressed African-American men at the cookout could have shot Knaff, with Taylor mistakenly fingered as the shooter.
Assistant Prosecutor Joe Miller said he still doesn’t understand what prompted Taylor to shoot Knaff, his long-time friend. The two reportedly argued about a cigarette.
“It defies any common sense how a man would have died over something so insignificant,” Miller said. “That’s where we’re at today.”
Paula Brooks, Knaff’s mother, who wore a dress and a button with photos of her son, said the death of her son has had an impact on a lot of people. She said the hardest part was telling her grandson that his father had been shot and wasn’t coming home.
“I pray for the Taylor family,” she said, tears streaming down her face.
Edward Smith, who represented Taylor, along with attorney John Alexander, urged Rowlands to consider running the sentences for the charges concurrently, so that his client would get 18 years to life, rather than 21 years to life. He noted Taylor’s young age.
“I do believe the murder charge and gun specification will suffice as punishment for these crimes he was found guilty of,” Smith said.
Rowlands said she was following this route, but not because of Taylor’s age. She noted that a life sentence in Ohio is most often that, with the Parole Board often choosing to keep people convicted of murder in prison.
Rowlands sentenced Taylor to 15 years to life for murder, three years on the gun specification and three years for the having a weapon under disability charge. The disability charge will run concurrent to the other terms, for a total of 18 years to life in prison.
Rowlands also took a moment to reflect on the gun violence plaguing Akron.
“When you choose to carry a gun and are not licensed to do so, there is one outcome,” she said. “That outcome is loss.
“Until people in this community decide they are going to stop looking the other way, not telling on or not reporting people walking around with guns they are not licensed to carry, we are going to be in this position again and again. Loss is going to run like a river through our community.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.
