The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Pair pleads guilty in 2009 shooting
Two 27-year-old men pleaded guilty June 23 for their role in the February 2009 shooting death of Christopher Lundberg.
Andrew Lorenzana, of Lorain, and Avery Taylor pleaded to an amended indictment of one count of reckless homicide and five counts of involuntary manslaughter. The involuntary manslaughter charges also carry a one-year mandatory firearm specification.
The pleas are the result of a deal with the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office. Their trials were scheduled to begin July 6.
Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James L. Miraldi, who presided over the hearing, said he intends to sentence the pair to a mandatory four years in prison, but the law allows for a sentence up to 11 years.
He explained why he accepted the deal.
“I know the lawyers involved in this case are good lawyers, both for the state and the defense, and when those lawyers, who are the ones who are actually responsible for trying the case before a jury, have come up with a plea agreement, unless I found
something that was unethical or unprofessional about the agreement, then I will normally affirm or go along with the pleas,” Miraldi said.
According to Lorain police,
Lundberg, 34, of Lorain, was shot and killed Feb. 3, 2009, after driving with another man to the area of West 29th Street and Ashland Avenue to buy crack cocaine. Lundberg
was shot once after the deal went sour.
Taylor and Lorenzana were originally arrested in February 2009 and re-arrested in September 2009, but the case was dismissed
months later because of insufficient evidence to present to the Lorain County grand jury.
They are scheduled to be sentenced at 10 a.m. on July 14 in Miraldi’s courtroom.