PAINESVILLE, Ohio — A 26-year-old Painesville man who was found guilty for the 2021 murder of a 22-year-old father of two has been sentenced to life in prison.
Julian Lawrence was found guilty earlier this month on charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, two counts of kidnapping, and marijuana trafficking. His life sentence does have the possibility of parole after 44 years.
“This is why we do what we do. Because sometimes the only peace a victim’s family can have is the knowledge that justice has been served,” said Painesville Police Chief Dan Waterman in a statement after the sentencing.
On November 4, 2021, Painesville police officers responded to a report of several shots fired in the area of 55 Grant Street just after 6:15 p.m. Officers discovered an unresponsive man in the driver's seat of a vehicle. He was later identified as Ollie T. Gipson Jr. Police determined that Gipson died as a result of gunshot wounds.
Police located a suspect, identified as Lawrence, in the immediate area. Lawrence was detained and found to be in possession of a gun. He was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail.
One month later, Lawrence was indicted by a Lake County grand jury on felony charges of aggravated murder, murder, first-degree felony attempted murder, two counts of first-degree felony kidnapping, second-degree felony felonious assault and fifth-degree felony marijuana trafficking.
All of the charges had a firearm specification that carried a three-year mandatory prison sentence when the guilty verdict was found.
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