(ELYRIA, Ohio) — A Lorain County man was sentenced this morning to 34 to 38 years to life in prison for his role in the 2019 shooting death of his girlfriend, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
“Senseless violence often produces unintended victims,” Yost said. “You can’t take back a bullet once it’s fired, and today’s sentence won’t bring back the victim, but justice can be a starting point for healing.”
The sentencing for Christian Marshall, 23, follows his Oct. 5 conviction on 11 felony charges –including murder and complicity to attempted murder – for the death of 17-year-old Jessica Baker, also of Lorain. Six of the charges carried firearm specifications.
Marshall was driving the Jeep that took Baker and his friend Savion McCall to the location of the shooting on Oct. 17, 2019.
The shooting marked the culmination of a fight earlier that day between McCall and another man, Lucas Williams. After police broke up the fight, McCall asked Marshall to meet him and bring a gun. At Marshall’s request, Baker retrieved his gun and drove to pick him up in her parents’ Jeep.
With Baker in the passenger seat, Marshall picked up McCall and headed to Williams’ house, where McCall opened fire on a vehicle. Williams returned fire from the front yard, striking Baker in the back.
Marshall fled the scene and dropped McCall off at his house before calling 911. Police found Baker dead in the passenger seat of the Jeep.
The Lorain Police Department investigated the case, and attorneys with Yost’s Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted it in the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas.
In Ohio, if someone is killed during the commission of a crime, anyone involved in that crime may be charged with murder.
McCall and Williams are also facing charges in connection to the shooting.
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