Sentence handed down in court
By MARK LAW, staff writerSTEUBENVILLE - A man who had a loaded handgun in his pocket while he wrestled with a City Police officer and a Bergholz resident who escaped from a state correctional facility and stole a vehicle were sentenced to prison Wednesday.
Jaron Williams, 21, of 1431 Oak Grove Ave. was sentenced by Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge David Henderson to six and one-half years after pleading guilty to felonious assault, having a weapon with a felony record and carrying a concealed weapon.
City Police were responding to a report of shots fired in the early morning hours of May 4. An officer reported seeing a parked Jeep with two men inside.
The driver, identified as Williams, quickly got out and stood outside the vehicle, police reported.
The officer reported Williams was acting nervous and kept putting his hands in his pocket and down his pants. The officer told Williams to keep his hands out of his pockets but he didn't comply, police reported.
The officer grabbed Williams' wrists and Williams became violent and tried to break free, the officer reported.
The officer fell to the ground with Williams and the officer struck his face on a concrete step. Police reported Williams punched the officer in the face with a closed fist.
Another officer fired a Taser into Williams, but he still wouldn't stop struggling.
Police reported an officer then applied pepper spray to William's face.
During the struggle an officer found a .22-caliber loaded handgun in William's pants.
Also, Josh Brown, 19, of Bergholz was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to escape and receiving stolen property.
Brown was one of two men who jumped the fence at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center outside Wintersville on Aug. 16. Brown and Derek Kiggans, 18, a Guernsey County resident, ran through the woods to Richmond and stole a vehicle, according to court records.
Brown was sentenced on July 21 to six months in the Eastern Ohio Correction Center after pleading guilty to breaking and entering. Brown was to be on probation for two years, but Henderson revoked the probation and sentenced Brown to nine additional months in prison.
(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)
