Youngstown man pleads guilty in Newark’s Shackleford crash death
A Youngstown man charged in the crash that killed former Newark athlete Darius Shackleford pleaded guilty to some charges in Mahoning County last week.
Adrienne Washington Jr., 20, of Youngstown, pleaded guilty to one count each involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and failure to comply with order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony, according to a March 29 Mahoning County Common Pleas Court filing.
In exchange for his guilty pleas to those charges, Mahoning County prosecutors dismissed charges of vehicular manslaughter and aggravated vehicular homicide against the defendant.
In February 2021, Youngstown State University confirmed Shackleford, 24, died as the result of a car crash in Youngstown. Shackleford was a member of the Youngstown State football team from 2015 to 2020 and prior to that, played football, basketball and baseball at Newark City Schools.
During a Youngstown police press conference, Chief Carl Davis explained early evidence showed just before midnight on Feb. 6 (2021), one of their patrol officers saw a dangerous traffic violation, prompting the officer to activate his lights and sirens to make a traffic stop.
Davis said the vehicle, at a high rate of speed, fled through a red light, crashing into Shackleford’s vehicle, which was travelling through the intersection. Washington was subsequently charged in Mahoning County court.
In the days after his death, community members remembered Shackleford for his talent and personality. Longtime friend Julian Williams described Shackleford as a Newark legend, saying not many have had the impact his friend did.
Newark basketball coach Jeff Quackenbush said Shackleford always represented NHS, their basketball program and the Newark community in a great way. He said Shackleford could light up a room and had a big heart.
Shackleford was a standout receiver and defensive back for the football team, making Special Mention All-ohio in Division I, was a starter on the 2015 district championship basketball team and an outfielder and pitcher on the district runner-up baseball team. He was honored as The Advocate Male Athlete of the Year in 2015.
Washington faces up to 11 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine for the involuntary manslaughter charge, and up to 36 months in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for the failure to comply charge.
Court filings show the prosecutor’s office intends to recommend Washington be sentenced to 6.5 to nine years in prison, consecutive to his sentence in another felony case in Mahoning County.
Court records show Washington entered a guilty plea to one count each failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony, and aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, on March 29. The prosecutors will recommend Washington be sentenced to 18 months in prison in that case, according to the court filing.
Sentencing in both cases is scheduled for May 19 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.