An 18-year-old Akron man was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday for his part in the home-invasion robbery and assault of a woman in her Highland Square apartment last summer.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands sentenced Doriante Sutton to eight years for aggravated burglary, eight years for robbery and three years for a gun specification. The terms for the burglary and robbery will be served concurrently, while the time for the gun specification will be consecutive. Sutton will be eligible for judicial release after eight years.
“This is the worst form of offense,” Rowlands told Sutton. “It makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t even know what to say.”
Sutton faced six to 14 years in prison. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty Jan. 19 to aggravated burglary and robbery with a gun specification and agreed to testify against the co-defendant in the case.
Apartment ransacked
Police said Sutton and Tyree Williams-Omenai, 16, broke into the 24-year-old woman’s South Highland Avenue home about 5 a.m. Aug. 11 through a ground-level kitchen window.
Authorities said they went into her bedroom where one of them held a gun against her neck and fondled her while the other ransacked her apartment. They stole a cellphone, car keys, a bank card and television and demanded the woman’s ATM PIN number before forcing her into a bathroom.
After the two fled, the woman called 911. Responding officers saw a car matching the description of a stolen vehicle drive past the apartment building. Officers saw two men abandon the car on South Portage Path and Grand Avenue. Police arrested the two men after a short chase.
Williams-Omenai will have a pretrial in Summit County Juvenile Court on March 11. He is charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, abduction, theft, gross sexual imposition and carrying a concealed weapon. A request by prosecutors for him to be bound over to adult court was denied.
Letter to judge
Sutton’s sentencing got off to an unusual start Wednesday when Rowlands revealed that Sutton had sent her a long hand-written letter Tuesday in which he asked legal questions and pondered whether he should withdraw his guilty pleas. He questioned whether his attorney, John Alexander, had done the best job he could in representing him or was in league with the prosecutor.
Rowlands said Sutton also admitted to his part in the incident and expressed remorse.
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi called this “one of the worst cases I have seen against a pure victim in 20 years.” He said he agreed to the plea deal because Sutton had accepted responsibility and because the victim credited Sutton for stopping his co-defendant from terrorizing her.
Alexander said he would never advise a client to write a letter to the judge. He said he thinks Sutton did because he was young, scared and facing a substantial prison sentence.
LoPrinzi and Alexander, who hadn’t seen the letter, paused the sentencing to read it.
LoPrinzi was angered by the letter and said it made him question the plea agreement. He said the victim, who couldn’t be in court, was terrified by the incident and moved two counties away.
“This type of crime is at the heart of all of our worst fears — our worst nightmares,” Rowlands said. “I can’t get it out of my mind what happened to this young woman. It could happen to my daughter, my friend or to me.”
Apology in court
Alexander urged Rowlands to consider giving Sutton six years in prison, the minimum term. He noted that Sutton has only a misdemeanor offense in his past.
Sutton, who didn’t withdraw his guilty pleas, apologized for his actions.
“I still think about it,” he said. “I want to tell her [the victim] I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”
Rowlands told Sutton what he did was more than a mistake. She said her intention was to give Sutton 14 years, but she wants him to have the chance to serve his time, make the most of the programs in prison, get out and live a productive life.
After the sentencing, Dorinda Sutton, Sutton’s mother, yelled to him, “I love you baby!” as he was led away in handcuffs by a deputy. Another family member shouted to Sutton, “Keep your head up!”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.