2 men get prison for deadly robbery

10/15/2013

Taking into consideration their actions in a robbery that turned deadly as well as their cooperation with investigators, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Frederick McDonald sent two men to prison Tuesday.

Andrew Goetz, 29, of 614 Earl St., was ordered to spend six years in prison, while Chaz Jackson, 29, of 1158 Clark St., was sentenced to four years.

Both men had pleaded guilty to robbery as part of an agreement with prosecutors that required them to testify against co-defendant Jonathon Johnson in exchange for the dismissal of murder charges.

Johnson, 23, of 1657 Vance St., was convicted by a jury Oct. 3 of murder, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and carrying a concealed weapon stemming from the Oct. 5, 2012, shooting death of Jonathan Morris, 22, in a parking lot at Ravine Park Village. Johnson faces life in prison when he is sentenced Tuesday.

Goetz and Jackson testified that they went to the East Toledo housing complex to retrieve drugs and money they believed Mr. Morris had stolen from Goetz’s pockets at the Bottom Line bar earlier that evening.

Goetz said he confronted Mr. Morris, struck him over the head with a gun Johnson had given him, and then Jackson pulled off his pants to get Goetz’s property from his pocket.

They said Johnson shot Mr. Morris after they had walked away.

While Andy Lastra, an assistant Lucas County prosecutor, recommended four-year sentences for both Goetz and Jackson because of their cooperation in the case, Judge McDonald said he believed Goetz deserved a more severe sentence than Jackson because he was the “prime mover” in the robbery and had previous felony convictions.