Man guilty in death from 2015 shooting
Three years ago, a jury convicted Peter A. Hunter of two counts of aggravated robbery but was unable to reach a verdict on attempted murder charges in a case involving a drug deal that went south and left a man paralyzed.
Hunter was sentenced to 27 years in prison. The man who did the shooting, Derrick E. Wade, pleaded guilty in January 2014 to one count of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 19 years.
But on Sept. 2, 2015, the man they shot in a Franklinton motel room died. His death meant prosecutors could bring murder charges against Hunter and Wade.
On Monday, Hunter, 43, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to an additional five years, boosting his total prison term at the Ross Correctional Institution to 32 years.
In January, a jury convicted Wade of murder and Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Colleen O’Donnell sentenced him to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
Wade, who lived on the Hilltop, and Hunter, who was homeless at the time, went to a room at the Travelodge, 1151 W. Broad St., on March 23, 2013 to sell Danny Lowe III and his girlfriend $20 worth of Xanax.
During an ensuing struggle, Wade shot Lowe once in the neck. Wade, who also was shot during the struggle, argued that he was acting in self-defense.
Lowe’s girlfriend, Jessica Devor, had a wad of cash in the room from a recent tax return and Hunter told police that he knew about the money, said Assistant Prosecutor David Zeyen.
Devor testified at Hunter’s earlier trial that after Lowe was shot, Hunter placed a gun to her 4-yearold son’s head and demanded money. He and Wade then ran from the room. They were separately picked up by police later.
Lowe was 27 when he died as a direct result of his injuries.
“We believe this is a just resolution ... 32 years,” Zeyen said.