AKRON, Ohio — An Akron man who pleaded no contest to robbery will avoid prison time in the case following a judge's controversial ruling.
According to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, 21-year-old Javion Rankin received a sentence of probation despite the state asking for a maximum sentence of seven to 10 1/2 years behind bars. Even his own attorneys had requested a "minimum" penalty of two to three years in prison, but Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands decided to go below even that.
"Because the crime carries with it a presumption of prison time, the Summit County Prosecutor's Office will appeal the sentence," Walsh's team said in a statement.
The case dates back to December of 2020, when authorities say the then 19-year-old Rankin attempted to steal a purse from a 60-year-old woman all while kicking and dragging the victim. Rankin's DNA was found on a mask left at the scene, with the woman eventually going to the emergency room and testifying Thursday that she remains scared for her wellbeing following the attack.
As Rankin did not contest the charge, Rowlands treated that as a guilty conviction on the second-degree felony offense. Prosecutors did not share what reasoning the judge gave for her sentence.
Today's developments are just the latest in a long and winding legal road for Rankin, who in an unrelated matter is also charged with aggravated murder in the 2020 shooting death of Tyraye Carter. Rankin had been being held in the Summit County Jail in that case, but just last month was released and ordered to be placed under house arrest with a GPS monitoring device.
Rowlands is also overseeing the murder case, and the Akron Beacon Journal quoted her as saying she "had no option but to release him on his own recognizance" after prosecutors appealed one of her rulings. Rankin's trial had been expected to start June 23 until Rowlands threw out evidence that tracked Rankin's location through his smartphone.
Rowlands has served on the Summit County Common Pleas bench since 2008 and has previously earned bipartisan praise for her reentry court program, which has been described as a "model" for helping newly released inmates acclimate back into society. She was most recently reelected unopposed in 2020.
In another unrelated case, Rankin also pleaded no contest to theft after stealing a necklace from an area store. Rowlands sentenced him to one year in prison — the maximum for a fifth-degree felony — and he received credit for time already served in the Summit County Jail.
Two other men were charged with Rankin for Carter's killing, with Kashmair Mingo being convicted of murder and currently serving a sentence of 21 years to life in prison while Dorell Davis is set to go to trial in November. Rowlands is also overseeing both those matters.
Prosecutors say Carter's murder took place the day before Rankin robbed the 60-year-old woman. A new date for Rankin's murder trial has not been set due to the aforementioned appeal.
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