East Toledo man sentenced for shooting at Ravine Park Village
Aug. 12—Two fathers stood at opposite ends of the county courthouse on Thursday, apologizing to and forgiving each other for the loss of one another's sons.
Floyd Barton, 61, of the 200 block of Earlwood Avenue, saw his son, James Smith, 39, being shot in the back following an altercation at Ravine Park Village apartments on June 22, 2020. Barton said he thought the alleged shooter, Dennison Bowen III, 39, would also turn the gun on him — so Barton fatally shot him.
"I'm very remorseful about what happened and if I could take it back, I would," Barton told the Bowen family through tears.
Mr. Bowen's father, Dennison Bowen, Jr., also apologized for Barton's own loss and forgave him for causing theirs.
Despite that, two lives were lost for something that was senseless, Judge Eric Marks said prior to sentencing Barton to 4 to 6 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.
"It's a microcosm of what our community's experiencing with gun violence," the judge said on Thursday. "There's shots being fired for reason that have no justification at all, seemingly every day. This is one example of a tragic loss that should have never occurred."
On June 22, 2020, Barton and Mr. Smith went to Mr. Bowen III's residence last summer to confront him about an ongoing disagreement. The two sons got into a physical altercation and were pulled apart, defense attorney John Thebes said on Thursday.
Prior to the altercation, Mr. Smith gave his father a firearm, Mr. Thebes said.
But as Mr. Smith was walking away from the fight, Mr. Bowen allegedly fired at him, striking him in the back. In return, Mr. Smith's father fired at Mr. Bowen III, killing him.
"He feels guilty for placing his son in this situation. This tragic chain of events really isn't isolated to one particular action — everybody played a part," Mr. Thebes said. "It's unfortunate and it's unnecessary and it's tragic."
Instead of taking the case to trial and arguing self-defense for a murder charge, Mr. Thebes advised Barton to enter into the plea agreement with the state. Last month, Barton entered an Alford plea — not admitting guilt — to voluntary manslaughter, which doesn't carry the potential of a life-sentence, Mr. Thebes said.
At the time of the shooting, Barton was on post release control after serving 8 years in prison for rape. As a convicted felon, Barton should not have been anywhere near a firearm, Judge Marks said on Thursday.
For violating terms of post release control, Judge Marks added an additional 12 months in prison on Thursday, which will be served consecutively for the involuntary manslaughter offense.
First Published August 12, 2021, 4:56pm
