An Akron attorney is asking a judge to bar a victim’s family from being in the courtroom — or even in the Summit County Courthouse — during his client’s sentencing next month.
In his motion, Kerry O’Brien, the attorney for David Hillis, pointed to an altercation between his client’s family and the family of Marcus Glover last month after Hillis pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for shooting and killing Glover. He also referenced an incident between the two families after an earlier pretrial and to alleged threatening statements by Glover’s loved ones.
“For the safety of all parties in the courtroom, it is respectfully requested that all members of the deceased family be barred from the courtroom, and the entire Common Pleas Court complex,” O’Brien wrote in his motion, filed Monday.
O’Brien’s request is unusual, especially because victims’ family members are normally present for sentencing hearings and given the opportunity to speak. O’Brien also asked that extra sheriff’s deputies be on hand during the sentencing.
Crystal Thomas, Glover’s mother, was upset to learn about O’Brien’s request Friday. She said the family wants to be in court Oct. 7 when Hillis is sentenced by visiting Judge Richard Reinbold.
Hillis faces three to 11 years in prison. Hillis’ family is pushing for probation, while Glover’s family wants him to get the maximum possible.
“We’re not coming down there to start problems,” Thomas said. “All we want is justice for my son.”
Assistant County Prosecutor Peter Daly filed a response to O’Brien’s motion Friday, objecting to it.
“It is normal that emotions and passions will arise in situations like this,” Daly wrote. “However, that does not take away this family’s need and right to grieve and seek closure.”
Daly said he is confident the court and the sheriff’s deputies that provide security there can “ensure the safety of all those present.”
Reinbold, a retired judge from Stark County, hasn’t ruled on the motion.
Police said Glover, 25, and Terry Tart, 38, forced their way into Hillis’ Hillbish Avenue home at gunpoint Aug. 7, 2015, and threatened Hillis. When Hillis showed a handgun, they fled. Hillis chased after them and fired several shots, one hitting Glover in the back of the head, killing him.
Glover was about 70 yards away and no longer on Hillis’ property, prosecutors said.
Tart, 38, of Akron, pleaded guilty Aug. 4 to involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification, a first degree felony. He will be sentenced by Reinbold Sept. 14, a week later than originally planned.
Hillis, 22, of Akron, pleaded guilty Aug. 17 to voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony. Prosecutors, under a plea agreement, dismissed a firearm specification. He is free on a 10 percent, $50,000 bond.
After Hillis’ guilty plea, Glover and Hillis’ family clashed outside of the courtroom, with extra deputies called in to separate the two groups and urge them to leave the courthouse. During the altercation, Thomas, who has health problems and uses a wheelchair, bumped into Marie Donofrio, Hillis’ mother. Donofrio was treated at a hospital for a cut to her ankle.
Lt. Bill Holland, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said his office investigated and “determined that the contact made by the wheelchair was inadvertent.” He said no charges will be filed.
Holland said the sheriff’s office is planning to have additional deputies at Hillis’ sentencing “to ensure that order is maintained in and around the courtroom.”
Glover’s family and friends marched back and forth last week from the Police Department to the courthouse, urging that Hillis be given prison time. They questioned the circumstances that led to Glover’s shooting and think Hillis, the son of a retired Summit County Sheriff’s deputy, has been given special treatment.
Hillis, however, filed a sentencing memorandum this week outlining why he deserves probation. The reasons included his lack of a criminal record, the fact that Glover and Tart both had records and the evidence that he shot Glover after the two broke into his home.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.