‘I really apologize’: Teen sentenced in Little Italy crime spree

CLEVELAND (WJW) — A 15-year-old boy stood in a Cuyahoga County courtroom on Wednesday, awaiting his fate for a crime spree committed in December of 2021.

The teen admitted to robbing five people and assaulting one of his victims near Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood.

He also faced attempted murder for shooting a 23-year-old woman during his crime spree, but that was dropped when he agreed to a plea deal.

The first to speak at Wednesday’s sentencing was the teen’s attorney.

“We believe an 18-year sentence would be more than sufficiently meet those ends,” Attorney Lon’Cherie Billingsley said.

Next up was the prosecution representing the victims involved.

“He chose to commit these crimes. He didn’t care about his family; he didn’t care about his community,” said Yasmine Hasan, assistant prosecuting attorney.

Then, those who were victimized by the teenager shared their thoughts.

“Till this day, I still remember every word he said to me and everything he did,” explained one of the victims.

The last to speak was the defendant himself.

“I wasn’t planning to hurt nobody, I wanted them to know that I really apologize,” he said.

Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams ultimately decided to hand down a 21-year sentence to the teen.

His victims finally getting the justice they deserve.

“I almost died. It’s not something that I say out loud all the time, but you never know what can happen,” shared one of the victims.

The teenager was 14 years old when he committed these crimes but was tried as an adult.

Collier-Willams asked that the teen’s face not be shown on camera.

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