Akron man pleads guilty to killing Veronica Bell, gets 15 to 20½ years in prison

Months after Dakinga York shot and killed her sister Veronica Bell, 45, the pain of her loss is still fresh in Angela Bell's mind.

"You took her from her only child," she said. "You cheated my sister out of years of her life."

She spoke Tuesday morning to 41-year-old York at his sentencing hearing moments after he pleaded guilty to killing Bell. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Christine Croce sentenced him to 15 to 20½ years in prison.

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York entered into a deal Tuesday with Summit County prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with an associated firearm specification, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors dismissed the counts of murder, felonious assault and an association firearm specification.

Self-defense or fatal shooting of an unarmed woman?

York's plea agreement was reached the same day jury selection was slated to begin in his murder trial. Attorney Michael Edminister said if it wasn't for the charge of murder, his client would have gone to a jury trial. Court filings show York intended to argue self-defense.

On the night of Aug. 12, York was asleep when Veronica Bell and a friend entered his house in search of leftover food, Edminister said.

After entering his room, he said, the two women physically assaulted York and pulled at his dreadlocks. Eventually, the friend told Bell to grab her gun from the car, so York reacted.

"My client went downstairs and grabbed a gun off the refrigerator," Edminister said. "If he waited, there might have been a gunfight. Veronica Bell could be sitting here instead of Dakinga York."

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Felicia Easter said York shot Bell in the back as she ran from the house following an altercation. He then "trashed" the scene before fleeing, she said.

"The bottom line of this is that the defendant shot an unarmed woman as she left the house," Easter said Tuesday. "He knew he did wrong, that's why he fled the scene."

Speaking to Easter before he was sentenced, York said he shot Bell in self-defense out of fear for the safety of his son, who was in the house.

"I turned myself in," he said. "I didn't want them to feel like I was trying to get away with it."

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron man pleads guilty to killing Veronica Bell, gets 15 to 20½ years in prison