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Judge gives life without parole in 2022 gas station murder

Akeem Hargrove, left, stands with his attorney, Stanley Booker, a short time before Hargrove was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the Dec. 22, 2022, shooting death of Devin Bell outside of the Shell gas station on South Avenue in Youngstown. Staff photo / Ed Runyan

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony D’Apolito sentenced Akeem Hargrove, 32, to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus six years Thursday for shooting Devin Bell, 26, to death Dec. 22, 2022, outside of the Shell gas station on South Avenue in Youngstown.

Two special prosecutors recommended that Hargrove get 25 or 30 years to life, citing the much lower sentence recommendation earlier prosecutors gave Hargrove’s co-defendant, Zachary Bair, 35. Bair got the recommendation in exchange for his testimony at Hargrove’s trial in August.

D’Apolito said he was not going to lower Hargrove’s sentence to make it more proportional to Bair’s sentence.

“Two wrongs don’t make that right. I’m not going to do that,” he said. “I am going to give the sentence that I feel is appropriate in this matter, in this case.”

D’Apolito said one thing that happens when a person goes on trial is the judge learns more about the case than he or she would have if the defendant would have taken a plea. In Hargrove’s trial, D’Apolito learned that Bell’s killing was planned out, he said.

“In this case particularly, the planning, the execution, the calculation, all the things that went into Mr. Bell losing his life. I got to see it all in real time. The defendant and his accomplice were not dressed in black for no reason,” D’Apolito said.

D’Apolito was referring in part to surveillance video at the gas station that showed the murder.

“They didn’t just happen to have two guns on them with a knife as well, with masks covering their faces,” he said. “This was planned. They hunted and they caught and they killed. It doesn’t get much colder than that.”

D’Apolito said he will have to look at whether he committed to Bair getting 10 to 13 years in prison when the plea agreement was reached before he decides whether he will give Bair that recommended sentence.

D’Apolito said if he has to, “I will live with that. I won’t like it, but I will.” But he said he would not lower Hargrove’s sentence because of the low sentence recommended for Bair.

That’s when D’Apolito announced that Hargrove would serve life without the possibility of parole on his aggravated murder conviction and six years for two gun specifications, for a total of life in prison without parole plus six years.

VICTIM’S MOTHER

Devin Bell’s mother, who did not give her name, spoke tearfully during Hargrove’s sentencing hearing. She said Hargrove’s actions mean that “I will never get to tell my son I love him or just randomly call him to ask what he is doing or give him a hug and a kiss because that’s what mothers do.”

She said Hargrove grew up with her son and called her “Mom.” She said, “Now I cringe every time someone calls me mom who is not my kid. It’s because of you.”

SPECIAL PROSECUTORS

The case was prosecuted by two special prosecutors because of a conflict of interest involving new Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro, who represented Hargrove as defense attorney prior to being elected county prosecutor.

The special prosecutors, Brad Gessner, chief counsel for the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, and Christopher DeLisio, an assistant Summit County prosecutor, filed a sentencing memorandum in the case, urging D’Apolito to sentence Hargrove to 25 to 30 years in prison, plus six years on the gun specifications.

Their memorandum states that they did not agree with the plea agreement the previous administration of the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office gave to Bair, which was a manslaughter plea and a recommendation of 10 to 13 years in prison. Bair got that recommendation in exchange for his testimony at Hargrove’s trial. Gina DeGenova was the county prosecutor at the time.

Gessner and DeLisio said they believed that Bair’s plea agreement was an “inappropriate offer that ignored the evidence in this case and the severity of Bair’s actions and culpability. However, we did agree to represent the office in this matter, and Bair did honor his end of the agreement.”

The memorandum stated that “As there is no breach, we feel we are bound by that agreement. Because Bair received a disproportionately lenient agreement, the State feels that life without parole would be inappropriate for Defendant Hargrove.”

The memorandum states that Hargrove was eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole, but D’Apolito also could select life in prison with parole eligibility after 20, 25 or 30 years. It stated that Hargrove should get an additional six years for the gun specifications.

The memorandum states that Hargrove “killed Devin Bell by shooting him multiple times in an ambush. The court may recall the reactions of the jury to see security footage (from the gas station), capturing the murder as it occurred.

“Their visceral response, coupled with the defendant’s refusal to take responsibility all support the position that the lowest sentence is an inappropriate outcome, while the defendant’s lack of significant previous criminal history make a maximum sentence also inappropriate.”

Judge gives life without parole in 2022 gas station murder

YOUNGSTOWN — Judge Anthony D”Apolito sentenced Akeem Hargrove, 32, life without the possibility of parole today for the Dec. 22, 2022, shooting death of Devin Bell outside of the Shell gas station on South Avenue in Youngstown.

This is a developing story. Return to Vindy.com and read Friday’s print editon of The Vindicator for more.

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