Man gets 10 years in death of teenager
The argument had ended outside a South Linden market and a 16-year-old boy was pedaling away on his bicycle when a single gunshot struck him in the head.
Marquez Turner, 26, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a gun specification for firing the fatal shot. Richard D. Ferguson IV was killed in the dispute in the 1000 block of East 15th Avenue on Aug. 18, 2015.
The sentence, imposed by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles Schneider, was recommended by prosecuting and defense attorneys as part of a plea agreement.
The voluntary manslaughter charge means that Turner, whose address was listed as the streets of Columbus, was “under the influence of a sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage” when he fired at Ferguson.
Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierson said the teenager had entered a convenience store on the block, where he saw Turner and two other individuals, all of whom had “a beef” with him. Ferguson left the store but returned and exchanged words with Turner and the others outside. He was leaving again on his bike when Turner shot at him.
Turner, who was represented by attorney Stacie Sydow, declined to comment in court.
Pierson read aloud from a statement provided by the victim’s family, who wrote, “Whatever happened, we know it wasn’t worth his life.”
Turner was serving a one-year sentence in the Pickaway Correctional Institution on convictions for escape and a felon possessing a gun when he was charged with Ferguson’s death in April 2016.