The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Painesville man gets 13 years in prison
Man sentenced on his 22nd birthday
A Painesville man celebrated his 22nd birthday Oct. 5 by being sentenced to 13 years in prison for forcing himself inside another city resident’s house with a handgun on Easter Sunday.
The packed courtroom of supporters then sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday to You!” to Kysean Lee as he was led away in handcuffs by sheriff’s deputies.
Lee was one of two men arrested after police responded to a home in the 200 block of Jefferson Street shortly after 4 a.m. April 16 for a burglary in progress.
The victim called 911, saying two unknown men were attempting to break into her house and that one of them had a gun. She was able to flee, allowing police to move her out of the area.
Police responded quickly to the scene, taking away any escape route for the suspects, who wound up getting inside the home by the time the woman called for help and the time police opted to
call in Special Weapons and Tactics team members.
After a four-hour standoff, the SWAT team entered the house and took Lee and co-defendant Marshaun Ligon into custody without incident.
“They were there to find drugs, money and guns,” Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Jenny Azouri said. “Neither were expecting (the victim) to be home. When confronted with her, (Lee) chose to charge at her and put a loaded firearm to her head. They then tried to get her to lie to police and say nobody was in the home, which of course she didn’t do.”
The victim was so afraid after the incident that she moved out of her house one week later, Azouri added.
After a three-day jury trial in Lake County Common Pleas Court before Judge Eugene A. Lucci, Lee was convicted in June of aggravated burglary, aggravated
robbery, kidnapping, resisting arrest and intimidation of a witness in a criminal case.
The jury found him not guilty of an additional count of kidnapping.
“I made a poor decision and now I need to man up,” Lee told the judge.
Lee’s original sentencing date was delayed more than two months so he could hire his new attorney, Rick Ferrara, who called the crime “an act of stupidity.”
Lee showed promise in multiple areas — as an honors student in school and a basketball standout, added Ferrara.
More than a dozen people
were there to support Lee — at least half of whom were wearing identical T-shirts saying, “I am guilty but will not offend no more. Teach me what I cannot see. If I have done wrong, I will not do so again.”
Lucci noted that Lee had a significant criminal history for his age, including multiple drug convictions and a prior nine-month prison stint for fleeing and eluding.
Ligon, a 24-year-old former Painesville man, is serving five years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated burglary.
Nobody was injured during the incident.