Courtroom erupts after sentencing in rape case

An unidentified man is one of a handful of people taken into custody by Lucas County Deputies after a disturbance in the on in front of the Lucas County Courthouse.

At least five people were arrested today after a disturbance at the Lucas County Courthouse during a sentencing in a rape case.

The disturbance occurred about 2:30 p.m. in the case of Anthony Mitchell, 16, who previously was found guilty of rape and aggravated burglary with a one-year gun specification for breaking into a woman’s South Toledo apartment pretending to sell candles for a fund-raiser. He proceeded to rape and rob the 23-year-old at gunpoint.

Common Pleas Court Judge Linda Jennings sentenced Mitchell to 21 years in prison for the crimes. After the sentence was handed down, some in the courtroom, who were described as family members of the defendant, had outbursts and refused to calm down, Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. One female detective was physically assaulted and she called for backup, the sergeant said.

“It turned into a little bit of a riot,” Sergeant Heffernan said after police crews and members had converged outside the courthouse.

Mitchell had a co-defendant Kenneth Moore, 19, who previously was sentenced by Judge Jennings to 10 years for each of the same two charges plus an additional three years for the gun specification, all to run consecutively.