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YOUNGSTOWN – Edward M. Johnston, 31, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to attempted trespassing into a home in possession of a gun.
Judge Maureen Sweeney adopted the recommended sentence of three years mandatory for specifying firearms and six months for attempted trespassing.
He told Sweeney that day: “I feel bad, especially for (the victim). I had been her best friend for 15 years, and it ended very badly.
Austintown Police said Johnston fired three shots from a shotgun after attempting to break into the woman’s residence in Austintown on May 27, 2020, according to a police report, noting that Johnston was suspected of be intoxicated.
The woman told police that Johnston was a friend who requested to be brought home from Shotz Bar N Grill on Oakwood Avenue. When the woman arrived to pick up Johnston, she did not want to drive him because he was drunk and angry, according to the police report.
Johnston threatened her and followed her to her residence and attempted to break into the front of the house before turning back and attempting to break in through another entrance, police said. Police found gashes on the sliding glass door to the back patio that apparently came from the attempted break-in.
Johnston was then charged with firing three shots in an unknown direction before leaving. Police stopped Johnston’s car shortly after in the 4100 block of Pembrook Road in Austintown and discovered he had two shotgun shells in his pockets and other shells in his cup holder.
A 12-gauge shotgun was in Johnston’s trunk, the report said. Johnston denied firing a gun that morning and told police the gun in his trunk had been there for over a year.
Asked about the shotgun cartridges, Johnston told police, “They’re still here. I like to stay armed, ”according to the report.
Police found an empty beer bottle on the passenger side floor, along with three unopened beer bottles. At the police station, Johnston failed a field field sobriety test and a chemical breathalyzer.
The damage discovered on Johnston’s passenger side doors was apparently sustained when he collided with another vehicle attempting to flee.
Charges outside of the trespass and firearm specification were dropped in exchange for Johnston’s plea.
At his sentencing hearing Thursday, his attorney, Damian Billak, said Johnston had “addiction issues that he needed to resolve” but had “been in paid employment for most of his time. adult life “.
He said Johnston fired a gun in a parking lot after the attempted break-in. “I don’t think he represents a risk or harm to society.”
Johnston gets credit for 209 days in Mahoning County Jail pending trial. He said he feels particularly bad that he cannot see his children while he is in prison.
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