UPDATE @ 5:56 p.m. (Oct. 21)
William T. Brown of Dayton was sentenced Wednesday to 24 years to life in prison for two unrelated crimes and the shooting death of 26-year-old Jatywan Easterling in April 2014 as Easterling sat inside his pickup truck at Smith’s Superette.
Brown, 20, pleaded guilty to murder earlier this month in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court and one count each of aggravated robbery and having weapons while under disability, both with mandatory gun specifications. He earned 536 days of jail-time credit.
Judge Dennis Adkins also ordered Brown to pay restitution of $5,598.14 for Easterling’s funeral and also to pay court costs.
There was no victim impact statement, though prosecutors said they spoke to victims in all three cases and all three supported the sentencing agreement. Brown did not address the court, but his attorney did say he may add some comments about the sentence in a court filing.
Easterling was shot multiple times while in a gold Chevrolet pickup truck and pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.
Police said Brown took off running after the shooting at 262 Lorenz Ave. and that a K-9 unit was called to the scene but lost the scent near Kilmer and Edison streets. But the crime was captured on surveillance video, according to police and prosecutors.
Brown has been incarcerated since May 4, 2014 at the Montgomery County Jail following his arrest for an alleged carjacking on McCall Street in Dayton earlier that day.
He was previously indicted for aggravated robbery in that case, as well as an April 14, 2014 armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver on Huron Avenue in Dayton.
EARLIER REPORT
A Dayton man was found guilty of fatally shooting Jatywan Easterling, 26, in 2014, the Montgomery County Prosecutor announced Friday afternoon.
William Brown, 20, was found guilty on one count each of murder, aggravated robbery and having weapons while under disability. The murder count includes a mandatory three-year firearm specification because Brown used a gun while committing the crime, officials said in the press release.
The shooting occurred in April 2014, when Brown shot Easterling as he sat inside his truck in the parking lot of Smiths Superette on Lorenz Avenue in Dayton. The shooting was captured oncsurveillance video, according to the release. Police investigated and uncovered additional evidence that identified the Brown as the shooter.
In addition to the charges related to the murder, Brown was found guilty of aggravated robbery and having weapons while under disability for a carjacking he committed in May 2014 on McCall Street in Dayton. He also was found guilty of aggravated robbery and having weapons while under disability for committing an armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver in April 2014 on Huron Avenue in Dayton.
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21.
