CLEVELAND — Jaylon Jennings, the man convicted in connection with last summer's mass shooting in the Cleveland Warehouse District, learned his fate on Tuesday.
During a sentencing hearing with Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Jennifer O'Donnell presiding, Jennings was sentenced to 16-21 years in prison.
"I would like to apologize to the city of Cleveland and everyone who was outside that night and the victims," said Jennings. "My intentions on going out that night never was to cause harm to nobody. I just wanted to go out and have fun like everyone else. I honestly don't know what transpired when we left, but I do take full responsibility for that. "
Judge O'Donnell spoke directly to Jennings during the sentencing, leaving him with some things she wanted him to consider.
"This type of violence has a long-term effect on not only your victims, but all of us who live and work and visit this community," said Judge O'Donnell. "I have thought a lot about your conduct that night, and your conduct was really no different than anyone who commits actual mass murder. But for the ability of your victims to successfully duck and dodge a barrage of bullets, by the grace of God, no one was killed that night. For that same reason that your victims were spared, you sir, are spared from a life sentence, because no one was actually killed that night."
Co-defendant Kevin Del Valle-Salaman, who previously pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and obstructing justice, was sentenced to three years of probation.
“Jaylon Jennings is the poster child for what we see going on in our community — a coward who recklessly shoots into a crowd to demonstrate what a tough guy he is,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley in a statement following the sentencing. “He will now have 16 to 21 years in prison to back it up.”
CASE DETAILS
The mass shooting that injured nine people took place on West 6th Street near Johnson Court in downtown Cleveland around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 9.
Law enforcement officials say that Jennings and Del Valle-Salaman left Rumor Bar and Lounge at around 2 a.m. to go to Del Valle-Salaman's car, which was parked nearby. Jennings allegedly grabbed a gun, walked back to West 6th Street and waited for some of the victims to exit the bar.
Jennings then allegedly fired into a crowd of people before fleeing the scene. The nine victims who were shot ranged in age from 23-38 years. All of the victims survived.
Jennings was arrested by U.S. Marshals two days after the shooting and was later indicted on the following charges:
- Nine Counts of attempted murder
- 18 Counts of felonious assault
- Two counts of having a weapon under disability
- One count of grand theft
- One count of receiving stolen property
In July, Jennings pleaded no contest to multiple charges before his trial was scheduled to start. Court records show Jennings was found guilty to various charges, which included attempted murder, felonious assault, having weapons while under disability, grand theft and receiving stolen property.