YOUNGSTOWN — Prosecutors will recommend that Shanay T. Jacobs, 32, of Youngstown spend 11 to 16.5 years in prison after she pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter in the Oct. 15 vehicle-related death of her ex-boyfriend, Nathanial Watson, 30, on South Schenley Avenue on the West Side.

Her attorney, Walter Madison, will argue for 3 to 4.5 years in prison, said Patrick Kiraly, assistant Mahoning County prosecutor. Her sentencing hearing will be 9 a.m. Sept. 16 after the Community Corrections Association of Youngstown carries out a presentence investigation of her criminal history and background.

Jacobs was indicted Dec. 7 on murder, felonious assault, aggravated vehicular assault and domestic violence. She has remained in the Mahoning County jail since Oct. 15 in lieu of $750,000 bond. If she would have been convicted of murder, she would have gotten a life prison sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years.

A two-hourlong preliminary hearing in Youngstown Municipal Court Nov. 2 indicated that Watson was found fatally wounded under a car in the front yard of a home on South Schenley Avenue.

Youngstown police detective Jerry Fulmer, the lead detective, said surveillance video from the home of Jacobs’ sister on South Schenley showed that just prior to Watson being run over, Watson walked out of the house in front of Jacobs.

Jacobs came “out of the home screaming and calling him insults” and following him, Fulmer said. Detective Chad Zubal played 10 short video clips during the hearing, one of which showed the screaming Fulmer described.

Fulmer said he interviewed Jacobs at the scene, and she said that after Watson left Jacobs’ sister’s home, Watson walked along the sidewalk on Schenley and she drove a car.

“Initially she said he jumped in front of the car,” Fulmer testified. “But then after speaking with her further, she … did admit that she ran him over on the sidewalk.”

Fulmer said that during the investigation, detectives acquired a surveillance video from another South Schenley home that appeared to capture Jacobs walking from where Watson was killed back toward Jacobs’ sister’s house.

It also showed the headlights from a car at about the time of the incident. Fulmer said Jacobs was driving the vehicle, and it illuminated homes on the other side of the street from the surveillance camera. The movement of the headlights indicates that Jacobs veered off the road to hit Watson, Fulmer said.

The video shows the headlights facing northbound on South Schenley at 5:08:14 a.m. on the video. At 5:08:17 “you see the headlights then veer to the right … which would suggest that the vehicle was turned in a different direction.” At 5:08:21, Watson was struck by the vehicle, Fulmer said.

No video shows Watson being struck, but the video showing the headlights “means that the car was going straight, turned and then went off road and ran over Nathaniel Watson,” Fulmer testified.

Police said they were called to South Schenley initially because of a fight. The first Youngstown officer to arrive at the scene, patrolman Nate Gibson, did not initially realize someone had been struck by a vehicle, according to his testimony.

He said he stopped close to where the vehicle was located in the yard near the sidewalk. Jacobs was standing nearby. “I stopped and exited my cruiser and asked her what was going on, why was her car up on the yard,” he said.

“She said that — I’m paraphrasing — her ex-boyfriend had jumped in front of the car,” Gibson said. “I looked around, and I didn’t see anybody else in the vicinity, so I asked further where he’s at now. She said he was under the car.”

He ordered Jacobs to move away and walked around to the passenger side of the car. He said the passenger side of the car was closer to the houses than the street. He saw Watson under the car. He said he called to the man, but he did not respond.

Gibson testified that Jacobs spoke to him about the incident, which was recorded on his body camera. He read from a report he compiled that quoted her comments: “We were dropping my sister’s car off after a night of going out and me and my sister got into an argument,” he quoted her as saying.

“That’s it. So I started to get in the car and leave. My ex-boyfriend jumped … in front of the car and made me literally run him over just so I wouldn’t leave.”

Gibson said firefighters removed Watson from under the car.

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