Posted on September 26, 2023

Jury Finds Akron Brothers Not Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter in Death of Ethan Liming

Molly Walsh, Cleveland.com, September 25, 2023

A Summit County jury found two brothers not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Monday in the beating death of 17-year-old Ethan Liming, an attack that came after Liming repeatedly shot at them with a pellet gun last summer.

Ethan Liming

Ethan Liming

A Summit County jury convicted Deshawn Stafford, 20, and his brother Tyler, 19, of lesser counts of assault in Liming’s death in the parking lot of the I Promise School in Akron in June 2022.

Prosecutors charged Deshawn Stafford with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and assault. The jury could not reach a verdict on the first count of involuntary manslaughter. He was found not guilty on the second count of involuntary manslaughter.

It is unclear whether prosecutors will attempt to take him to trial again on the first charge. {snip}

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{snip} The aggravated assault charge against Deshawn Stafford carries a maximum of 18 months in prison. The assault charges are misdemeanors that carry a maximum of a year in prison.

{snip} The case focused on whether the brothers acted in self-defense or deliberately attacked Liming, then-rising senior at Firestone Community Learning Center in Akron.

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Police said Liming and his friends drove through the city during the evening on June 2, smoking marijuana and shooting people and objects with a soft gel gun. The plastic guns fire a capsule that is filled with water. {snip}

Liming’s friends pulled into the parking lot and drove directly to where the Staffords and their cousin, 21-year-old Donovon Jones, were playing basketball at the school, which is operated with help from the LeBron James Family Foundation. Liming and his friends began shooting them with the gel guns.

Deshawn Stafford approached Liming and attempted to take the gun away after being shot in the face. The two began fighting. His brother and cousin joined in the fight.

Liming died when his head hit the pavement after being punched in the face, according to authorities. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

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The Stafford brothers and Jones were arrested in Akron on murder charges. A visiting judge, James Kimbler, originally set the bonds at $1 million each in Akron Municipal Court.

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A Summit County grand jury later indicted the three men on lesser charges in July 2022. A judge greatly reduced their bonds a month later.

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Original Article