AKRON, Ohio — An Akron man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to murdering a woman three years ago.
According to a release from Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, 28-year-old Jaleel Sojourner will be eligible for parole after serving 18 years of his sentence for the death of 20-year-old Janine Surgen in July of 2020.
Sojourner pled guilty to aggravated murder with a gun specification, a special felony.
Surgen was fatally shot on July 3, 2020, as she was walking along 27th Street SW near West Waterloo Road in Akron. The shooting was captured on a nearby home security camera.
Approximately 15 minutes afer the shooting, Akron police officers pulled over a car driven by Sojourner with two juvenile inside. Investigators determined that 20-year-old Calvin Thompson of Akron shot Surgen. He was 16 at the time of the shooting. Thompson was sentenced to life in prison in June of this year after pleading guilty to murder with a gun specification. He will be eligible for parole after serving 23 years of his sentence.
The third person in the vehicle, who was 17-years-old at the time of the shooting, admitted to a charge of Having a Weapon Under Disability in Summit County Juvenile Court. The teen has not yet been sentenced.