Saturday, August 15th, 2020
Role in shooting nets man 14 years
By Sydney Albert
WAPAKONETA - A Columbus-area man was sentenced this week to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter stemming from a 2018 shooting in St. Marys.
Keith Waddell Jr., 32, pleaded guilty Monday as part of a plea bargain reached with Auglaize County prosecutors. In exchange, several other felony charges were dropped.
Waddell reportedly had a firearm on or about his person or under his control and displayed, brandished or indicated he possessed the firearm, according to the complaint filed in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court.
Waddell had faced six first-degree felonies including aggravated murder with a gun, two counts of murder with a gun, one count of attempted aggravated murder with a gun, two counts of attempted murder with a gun, two counts of second-degree felony felonious assault with a gun and a third-degree felony weapon possession under disability.
Auglaize County Common Pleas Judge Frederick Pepple sentenced Waddell to 11 years in prison, consecutive to another three-year term for committing the crime while on parole. He was given 262 days credit and ordered to pay all court costs.
Waddell is one of three people arrested in connection with an April 11, 2018, shooting at a condominium at 10988 State Route 364, St. Marys. At about 3:22 a.m. that day a male had called 911 stating he had been shot. Deputies responded to discover two victims with gunshot wounds. The men were later identified as Dexter Lee Turner, 47, and Alim Amir Turner, 25. The father and son had been transported to hospitals by the St. Marys Rescue Squad. Alim Amir Turner had been sent to Lima Memorial Health System while Dexter Lee Turner had been transported to St. Rita's Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
The other two being charged are Syniqua Bell, 32, and Jacar Bitting, 28.
The trials for all three had been delayed repeatedly due to the coronavirus pandemic, and court staff noted schedules could continue to change. As of Friday afternoon, Bell is scheduled for a jury trial Aug. 24-28, and Bitting is scheduled to have his final pretrial hearing Sept. 29 with a jury trial to follow Oct. 13-19.
