Man gets life in prison for Newark murder

Tyler Ocasio will be older than David Barcus ever lived to be when Ocasio is first eligible to apply for parole.

Ocasio, 21, was convicted Friday of the 2018 murder of Barcus, 48, of Newark.

Licking County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Marcelain imposed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for 38 years. The 38 years are mandatory; Ocasio will be 59 when he can first apply for parole.

Ocasio and three other people went to the home where Barcus was staying on Cherry Street in Newark in the early-morning hours of Jan. 20, 2018, with the intent of committing a robbery, Assistant Licking County Prosecutor Paula Sawyers said.

Ocasio and one of the other robbers, 22-yearold Dustin Lehoe, went to the basement of the home, where Barcus was shot one time in his abdomen, with the bullet perforating his liver.

Lehoe already has been convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 23 years.

Prior to the trial starting on Tuesday, Ocasio rejected a plea offer that included a recommendation of a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole in 18 years.

During a 2-½-day trial, the other two suspects, Dylan Warren, now 17, and Jaden Osborn, now 16, testified against Ocasio, identifying him as one of the two people who went into the basement when Barcus was killed.

Both Warren and Osborn were offered plea agreements in exchange for their testimony.

The jury of eight women and four men began deliberations Thursday afternoon, following testimony from 18 witnesses, and continued until after 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Jurors returned Friday morning and reached their verdict around 11 a.m.

Sawyers and Assistant Prosecutor Jenny Gonzalez said the case shows that people with troubled pasts such as Barcus, who spent time in prison, can still be victims.

“The justice system protects everybody,” Gonzalez said.