Man gets seven years for drive-by shooting

Published 10:01 am Thursday, May 26, 2011

A 20-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for firing shots into a South Point home last November.

Randy G.Z. Lopez, of 223 Township Road 1186, Apt. 8, South Point, pleaded guilty in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court to improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, possession of powdered cocaine and trafficking in marijuana.

Judge Charles Cooper sentenced Lopez to seven years for improperly discharging a firearm and 12-month sentences for possession of cocaine and trafficking in marijuana. The sentences will be served together for a total of seven years in prison.

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He was also ordered to pay two $2,500 fines and his driver’s license will be suspended for three years.

The drive-by shooting took place around 3:22 a.m. Nov. 2. According to a release from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the shooting, the man fired several shots into a house in the 100 block of Elm Street. There were no injuries.

The incident allegedly occurred because of an earlier fight between Lopez and other individuals. The man shot at the house next door to the one he intended to shoot, according to the release.

In exchange for a guilty plea, Lawrence County Prosecutors dropped three other charges for which Lopez was indicted. Counts of improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation, tampering with evidence and trafficking in cocaine were all dismissed.

The prosecution also dismissed charges against Lopez’s girlfriend, Brittney J. Morris, of the same address. Morris had been charged with tampering with evidence in the same case.

In other cases:

David Wilson, 19, of 87 Township Road 1281, Ironton, pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery. Cooper sentenced Wilson to five years in prison.

Charles B. Burton Jr., 40, of 214 Park Circle, Huntington, W.Va., denied violating the terms of his community-controlled sanctions. Cooper set a $25,000 cash or recognizance bond and scheduled a pretrial hearing for June 29.

Susan Berry, 48, of 134 Private Drive 2404 Kitts Hill, was sentenced to six months in jail for aggravated possession of drugs. Cooper also ordered Berry to pay a mandatory fine of $1,250 and court costs. Berry pleaded guilty to the charge two weeks ago in Cooper’s courtroom. Though the sentence was part of a negotiated plea bargain, Berry’s defense attorney, Mike Gleichauf, asked the court for a sentence of CCS instead of prison time.

Berry plans to appeal the sentence, Gleichauf told the judge.

Robert L. Devaney Jr., 24, of 212 Township Road 1336, South Point, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and aggravated drug possession. Cooper sentenced Devaney to a total of 12 months in prison and ordered him to pay court costs.

Bradney Adkins, 27, of 523 Township Road 98, South Point, pleaded guilty to complicity to burglary, two counts of receiving stolen property, grand theft of a motor vehicle, operating a vehicle while intoxicated and identity fraud.

Cooper sentenced Adkins to a total of four years in prison.