Terry Tart apologized during his sentencing Wednesday for the part he played in the death of his friend, Marcus Glover.
Tart, however, denied that he and Glover broke into David Hillis’ home and tried to rob him. He said they went there to talk to Hillis about how he had shorted them of marijuana and a disagreement ensued. Tart said he and Glover fled when Hillis’ girlfriend told them she had a gun and Hillis fired shots at the fleeing men, striking and killing Glover.
“There was no plan for a robbery, no break-in,” Tart said. “We got permission to go there.”
Tart, 38, pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification. He faced up to 14 years in prison.
Richard Reinbold, a visiting judge in Summit County Common Pleas Court, sentenced Tart on Wednesday to nine years in prison, noting his previous criminal record. This was the amount of prison time recommended by prosecutors.
Prosecutors and police have said Tart and Glover, 25, forced their way into Hillis’ Akron home on Aug. 7, 2015, and tried to rob Hillis at gunpoint. The two men fled and Hillis fired shots at them from his front porch. A bullet struck Glover in the head. He was about 70 yards away from Hillis’ property, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Tart was charged because state law allows an offender to be prosecuted for a death that happens when a violent felony is committed or attempted.
Hillis, 22, pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter. He faces three to 11 years in prison. Hillis’ family is pushing for probation, while Glover’s family wants to see him get prison time. Reinbold will sentence Hillis at 11 a.m. Nov. 16.
Hillis said in court documents that Tart and Glover forced their way into his home at gunpoint, punched, kicked and pistol-whipped him and ransacked his house.
During Tart’s sentencing Wednesday, Crystal Thomas, Glover’s mother, described the toll her son’s death has had.
“I am so messed up,” she said, wiping away tears. “I’m lost. I’m hurt. Very angry. I think this was senseless.”
Assistant Prosecutor Greg Peacock presented Reinbold with photographs of Glover’s lifeless body that showed he was wearing gloves and had a gun when he was shot and killed.
“That’s not to denigrate or lessen Glover’s life but to establish that Tart was going along with a criminal enterprise when all of this happened,” he said. “So, he is equally responsible for the robbery they were going to commit.”
Peacock said Hillis was a known drug dealer.
Andrea Whitaker, Tart’s attorney, said phone records back this up, with numerous calls between another man who sells drugs and Hillis and the dealer and Tart shortly before Tart and Glover went to Hillis’ home. She said video of Hillis’ home doesn’t support his claim that Tart and Glover ransacked it and Hillis’ cut lip is more consistent with the punch to the face Tart admits than the beating Hillis claims he suffered.
Whitaker said the felony Tart committed was punching Hillis. She said this was a “drug deal gone bad,” and urged Reinbold to consider sentencing Tart to six years.
Reinbold said Tart’s decision to go to Hillis’ home “instigated the facts that followed from it.” He said he is required under the sentencing guidelines to take into account Tart’s previous record, which includes convictions for aggravated robbery, kidnapping and felonious assault.
“He does not stand in the same shoes as his co-defendant,” Reinbold said. “He has demonstrated he cannot live in society.”
Because prosecutors removed a gun specification for Hillis that carries a mandatory three years, Reinbold said he thought it was fair to subtract three years from the 14 years Tart could get. He said he couldn’t go less than nine years, though, because of Tart’s record.
Reinbold hasn’t yet ruled on a request from Kerry O’Brien, Hillis’ attorney, that Glover’s family be forbidden from being present for the sentencing because of previous clashes between Glover’s and Hillis’ supporters. Prosecutors objected to this.
Thomas is hoping she and her family can be present for Hillis’ sentencing and that they witness him being sentenced to prison like Tart. She said she believed Tart and his account jibed with what the family has heard happened.
“They should do equal time,” she said of Tart and Hillis. “He murdered my son.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .