Teen, 17, get 6 years for role in shootout
Lima boy with long juvenile record was tried as an adult.
A 17-year-old with LIMA — a long string of felony and misdemeanor convictions as a juvenile was sentenced Wednesday as an adult to six years in prison for engaging in a shootout with other teens.
Ohryn Wyche of Lima was bound over to Allen County Common Pleas Court from juvenile court in November of last year on two counts of felonious assault with firearm specifications, second-degree felonies; and discharge of a firearm on or near a prohibited premise. In January he entered a guilty plea to a single count of felonious assault with a three-year gun specification.
According to court documents, Wyche assaulted and attempted to cause physical harm to two other juvenile males during a confrontation in Lima on May 14, 2017. Prosecutors say Wyche discharged a firearm across a public roadway during the altercation, but also acknowledged that the other juveniles were discharging weapons at Wyche at the time of the incident.
Wyche, who was 16 years old when the incident occurred, was already facing the resolution of a charge of juvenile delinquency, the sixth offense on his juvenile record. He had previously been charged with assault, robbery and another firearm charge, according to court documents.
During Wednesday’s hearing Wyche’s attorney, Steve Chamberlain, said it was “unfortunate” that his client was charged as an adult while others involved in the altercation would be tried as juvenile offenders. “But it is what it is,” said Chamberlain, adding that Wyche was accepting responsibility for his actions.
Judge David Cheney, however, said it was obvious by the defendant’s demeanor in court that he showed no remorse for his actions. And the judge bristled further after he asked Wyche where he obtained the gun involved in the shooting.
“I found it,” the boy replied.
“This business about finding guns in not believable, and I don’t think you get it,” said Cheney. “I walk all over town and I’ve never found a gun.”
Cheney told Wyche that even after a long string of run-ins with the law as a juvenile, “you have not even come close to learning” how to live a law-abiding life.
In sentencing Wyche, Cheney said he would abide by the recommendation of prosecutors and handed down a three-year sentence on the felonious assault charge and a mandatory three-year sentence on the firearm specification. The sentences will be served consecutively.