The mother of a Green man who was shot and killed last fall will never forget the hysterical phone call from her son’s girlfriend who screamed, “They killed him!” over and over again.
“No words can describe the loss and pain we feel,” Tanya Seibel, the mother of Corey Seibel, said Tuesday afternoon during the sentencing for one of the two men charged so far in her son’s death.
Spencer Sims, 23, of Medina, was scheduled to go on trial on charges of murder in Summit County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday morning. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Sims instead pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, a first degree felony, with a firearm specification. Prosecutors dropped charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary.
Judge Amy Corrigall Jones went with the sentence negotiated between the parties and sentenced Sims to 11 years for the involuntary manslaughter charge and another three for the firearm specification for a total of 14 years. This was the maximum possible time he could get with the amended charges. He won’t be eligible for judicial release.
Police say Sims and several other men went to Seibel’s Long Road home Nov. 9 to rob him of a pound of marijuana. Seibel was shot and killed. Sims took the marijuana and fled with another man, according to court records.
Sims’ co-defendant, Ty’Shawn Henderson, 23, of Medina, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, with a firearm specification. He is to be sentenced by Jones at 1 p.m. Sept. 27.
The case remains under investigation for others who may be charged, according to prosecutors. Seibel’s family members and detectives signed off on the agreement prosecutors reached with Sims.
Tanya Seibel, reading from a statement, said Sims and his accomplices left her 6-year-old granddaughter with nothing but memories and photographs of her father, including one she keeps in a locket that she wears around her neck. She told Sims she hopes he makes better choices for the rest of his life.
Sims faced Seibel’s family members and apologized for his part in what happened.
“I hope you guys can forgive me,” he said.
Jones told Sims she hopes he follows Seibel’s mother’s advice.
“She asked, ‘If you are released, that you become a productive member of society?’ ” the judge said. “She will never have the opportunity to see her son again. The one thing you can do is turn your life around and make decisions that make a positive impact.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.