Gang triggerman receives life sentence
Botched robbery last year left one Ohio father dead.
The 22-year-old friend was shot in the left leg and one of Menter’s brothers suffered bruises on his face, police said.
The triggerman CLEVELAND — convicted of killing a Summit County father during a botched 2016 drug robbery has been sentenced to life in prison.
Deon Bulger, 29, who prosecutors said was an enforcer for the Heartless Felons, will get his first chance at parole after serving 39 years behind bars in the August 2016 shooting death of 26-year-old Stephen Menter.
A jury convicted Bulger Oct. 12 of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, aggravated robbery and other charges.
Judge Deena Calabrese handed down the sentence Monday.
Christopher Hill, who facilitated the robbery, was sentenced in June to 11 years in prison after a separate jury convicted him of involuntary manslaughter for his role in Menter’s death.
A jury found that Hill and Bulger set up Menter’s brother for a robbery by calling him and asking to buy marijuana on Aug. 10, prosecutors said.
Hill and Menter’s brother agreed to meet at a vacant home on Tarkington Avenue in Cleveland, court records say.
Menter, two of his brothers and their 22-year-old friend were on their way out of town to see a friend’s band play when they stopped to complete the sale.
Menter parked in the driveway, and Bulger walked up to the car, prosecutors said.
Bulger pointed a gun at the group and told them to give them everything they had, court records say.
Menter slammed on the gas to drive away, but Bulger opened fire on the car, police said.
Several of the bullets struck Menter in the arm and the body. He later died at MetroHealth Medical Center.
The 22-year-old friend was shot in the left leg and one of Menter’s brothers suffered bruises on his face, police said.
Bulger’s criminal history includes three separate convictions in 2009, including one for his role in helping hide a gun that a co-defendant used to scare off a police informant working a drug investigation with detectives.