McKennelly faced a maximum of 17 years in prison, which is the sentence Judge Greg Stephens handed down.
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Before Stephens sentenced McKennelly, the judge referenced the defendant’s criminal history, which includes a drug conviction, and a double shooting a few days later that stemmed from the bar shooting. Two people died in the second shooting.
“It all started with you,” Stephens said.
Before sentencing, McKennelly apologized to Goens’ family in a brief statement.
“I am sorry, I send my condolences to his family to his friends,” McKennelly said. “I apologize for what happened that night. It shouldn’t have went down the way it went down.”
The victim’s mother and grandmother had much more to say to McKennelly.
“This man is nothing but a waste … ,” Ann Ridley said to him. “Our lives have been destroyed.”
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Terri Parker, Goens’ mother, said her son leaves behind a 2-year-old son he loved dearly.
“He shattered my heart into a million pieces … you shot and killed my son,” Parker said. “My son was a peace maker not a trouble maker.”
Parker told McKennelly he was a coward, adding he had the chance to leave the bar that night, but went to his car, picked up a gun and came back and killed her son.
FIRST REPORTS: Hamilton bar shooting leaves 1 dead, several wounded
Three others involved in the gun violence at Doubles have already been sentenced to prison.
Cory Cook II, 23, of 9th Street in Hamilton, pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Rodrick Curtis Jr., 20, of North 7th Street, accepted a plea deal to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.
Mondale Goens, 21, of Maple Ave., pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.
Days after the shooting at Doubles, two men were killed in a drive-by shooting along Central Avenue, which was a murder for hire, according to court records.
Four people are facing the death penalty in the Central Avenue shooting and are scheduled for trial later this year. They are: Zachary Harris, 24, of Columbus, charged with two counts of aggravated murder; Tony Patete, 23, of Newark, two counts of aggravated murder; Melinda Gibby, 35, of Lancaster, two counts of aggravated murder; and Michael Grevious II, 23, of Maple Ave., Hamilton, one count of aggravated murder.
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