YOUNGSTOWN — Ethan Richmond of Austintown, who was 17 when he was charged in Mahoning County Juvenile Court in the Sept. 8, 2023, killing of Vincent Tarver, 22, in the parking lot of the Compass West Apartments in Austintown, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and two gun specifications.

Richmond, now 19, will be sentenced at 10 a.m. May 6. Mahoning County prosecutors and the defense are jointly recommending that Richmond get 11 to 15 years in prison. His felonious assault conviction is for also shooting Tarver’s girlfriend, then 21, who survived.

Austintown police said the shooting resulted from an alcohol-fueled argument. Police say Tarver’s girlfriend apparently was among a group of people at the Compass West apartment complex. She called Tarver to come to her aid after getting into a confrontation, police said.

When Tarver arrived, he got into a fight with members of the group, and Richmond shot Tarver and his girlfriend during a scuffle, police said.

A co-defendant in the case, Talim D. Mumin, now 23, also of Austintown, pleaded guilty in January to charges of complicity to voluntary manslaughter and complicity to felonious assault with two gun specifications and was sentenced to 6 to 7 1/2 years in prison.

Mumin “was complicit” in Tarver’s death and the shooting of Tarver’s girlfriend, Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Rob Andrews said at Mumin’s plea and sentencing hearing.

Talim Mumin was indicted on charges of murder and felonious assault. His brother, Tylan Mumin, now 19, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstructing justice and got two years of probation.

Austintown police said Talim Mumin and Tylan Mumin tried to hide the murder weapon, which police later found in an Austintown home. In addition to the Mumin brothers and Richmond, prosecutors said a juvenile girl also was charged with evidence tampering.

Andrews said earlier that Talim Mumin’s plea agreement reflected that he “was not the shooter. The shooter is Ethan Richmond.”

During Wednesday’s hearing, Richmond only had to answer a series of questions from Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Maureen Sweeney to establish that he understood the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty.

His attorney, Lou DeFabio, noted that the plea Richmond accepted Wednesday was actually worked out when the case was still in Mahoning County Juvenile Court. Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick bound over Richmond’s charges to adult court in April 2024, and Richmond was indicted in April of 2024. Bond was set at that time at $500,000, according to common pleas court records.

Austintown police said the shootings happened about 10 p.m. outside of 990 Compass West Drive. Witnesses told police they heard arguing in the parking lot shortly before shots were fired.

Police arrived to find Tarver on the ground with gunshot wounds to the neck, upper chest and leg. They found his girlfriend inside the apartment with a gunshot wound to her right side.

Officers administered first aid while they waited for ambulances to arrive. Both victims were taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where Tarver was pronounced dead. Police collected his girlfriend’s clothing as evidence.

A police report states one witness had video on a phone that showed part of the incident. Some witnesses told police they knew who was arguing with the victims and said one of them, a white male, repeatedly lifted his shirt as if reaching for a gun.

Witnesses told police they saw three men fleeing the scene toward Westgate Boulevard immediately after the shooting.

Austintown police detective Lt. Shawn Hevener said at the time, “We’re just still trying to speak with witnesses and gather evidence. We’re pretty confident, but at the end of the day we want to gather as much witness information as we can.”