Lorain teen pleads guilty, is sentenced to prison for drive-by shooting death of Elyria teen in 2022

A Lorain teen pleaded guilty on Wednesday to firing the shot that killed a sleeping 14-year-old Elyria boy in his bed in September 2022. Hezekiah Shepherd, 17, of Lorain, won't have his first parole hearing until he is nearly 40 years old after Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 23 years. Hezekiah — who was 16 when he shot and killed 14-year-old Shayne Edwards on Sept. 12, 2022 — said little during the hearing except to answer Rothgery's questions with "yeah" or "no." He declined to make a statement prior to being sentenced. "I ain't gonna say nothin'," he told Rothgery. Defense attorney Sean Boris asked Rothgery only to impose the agreed-upon sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 23 years. He said his client was making a "knowing, intelligent and voluntary admission of guilt." Hezekiah pleaded guilty to all 17 charges against him plus three specifications. The base sentence, 15 years to life in prison, is a result of a murder conviction. Added to that are five mandatory years for committing a drive-by shooting and three mandatory years for using a gun in the commission of a felony. The drive-by and firearms specifications, as they are known, are a mandatory eight years of prison time that must be served first before Hezekiah begins his 15-year sentence for murder. Hezekiah also was charged with, pleaded guilty to and was convicted of participating in a criminal gang, and an additional two years was added onto his sentence as a result. Rothgery ordered that a two-year sentence on a criminal gang specification, as it is known, run concurrent to an additional five-year term for taking part in a drive-by shooting. Hezekiah has been in custody for nearly a year at either the Lorain County Detention Home or the Lorain County Jail. As required by law, Rothgery also granted Hezekiah credit for the 364 days he has already spent in jail or the detention home toward his prison sentence. Labeled a violent offender, if Hezekiah ever is released from prison, he will be required to register as such with his local sheriff's office. Authorities said Shayne was not the intended victim of the shooting, and there was no indication that he and Hezekiah knew each other. "This was obviously a shocking offense, both to the community and an egregious example of juveniles taking grudges and personal animosity and ratcheting up a level of violence that is completely unacceptable in our community," Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Matt Kern said in court. "The state is asking this court to end that cycle of violence by removing Hezekiah Shepherd from the community" for at least 23 years. A grieving family Shayne's grandfather, David Thacker, thanked the Elyria police officers and detectives, Kern and his office, "Everybody that brought us to this moment here because … swift justice we're seeing, we're happy, our family is happy for that." Rather than stand up and talk about the pain, sorrow and tragedy that has been brought upon his family, David Thacker said he was glad justice was going to be served. "None of us came here to disrespect Shayne whatsoever, and we're just happy that this chapter is going to be over," he said. Linking his hands together, David Thacker said his family's bond, "is like this, our gears, they mesh, they don't clang, and it's going to get stronger and stronger." "And on the day that the individuals have to come in front of the court again, years from now, you can bet your honor, you're going to see a lot of those people right there," David Thacker said, gesturing to his family seated in the courtroom gallery. "Until then we're going to go on with our lives, we're still going to suffer in our heart, but we're going to go on with our lives and do the best that we can for Shayne." "Our grandchildren will know him, they will know him," David Thacker said. Shayne "was a good kid," his mother, Kristin Thacker, told Rothgery. "He wasn't perfect but he was a good kid." She said she still remembers the last conversation the two had on Sept. 11, 2022, which ended with Shayne telling her: "Don't forget to wake me up in the morning. Good night mom, I love you." Shayne was killed when a bullet passed through the wall of his family's former home at Third and Chestnut streets in Elyria at about 5 a.m. Sept. 12, 2022. His mother found him dead when she went to wake him up later that morning for a road trip, she said in court. "We already knew that he was gone" because Shayne's body was cold, but Kristin Thacker still attempted CPR on her son, she said in court. "This year has been very challenging for not only me but his siblings and my family," with Kristin Thacker having to take three months off of work, being in financial distress and attempting counseling, she said. She has since started a nonprofit in her son's memory, what she called "my biggest coping skill and it's helping me to move forward." She and her other two children are not the same, but Kristin Thacker said she has "learned to love a little bit harder, pick my battles" and "walk away from things I cannot control." "A lot of things happened out of my control because of what Hezekiah decided to do," she said. Asking Rothgery to hand down the "most maximum" sentence, Kristin Thacker said her son's killer has "no remorse, he is selfish, he doesn't care about anybody but himself. He does not understand what he's done to me, my kids, my family, his friends. I understand that kids do not think rationally but you cannot tell me that he did not know what he was doing." The family is doing the best it can, she said. "I'm glad I can still love the way I continue to love. I'm gonna miss my son until I go," Kristin Thacker said. Background The Elyria Police Department and county prosecutors charged Hezekiah with 17 felonies in December in connection with a drive-by shooting early on Sept. 12, 2022, that killed Shayne. Though he was 16 at the time of the crime, prosecutors successfully petitioned the Lorain County Juvenile Court to transfer Hezekiah's charges to adult court for trial. The charges included multiple counts of murder, felonious assault, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone, discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, participating in a criminal gang, tampering with evidence, having weapons under disability, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and carrying a concealed weapon. All are felonies. There were also multiple firearms, drive-by shooting and criminal gang specifications on the charges that could have sent Hezekiah to prison for additional mandatory time if convicted. Some of those were dismissed as part of the plea and joint sentencing recommendation, Kern said in court. Elyria police spent a month investigating the killing before identifying Hezekiah and 18-year-old Jose Campos of Lorain as suspects. Police said Hezekiah fired the fatal shot while Campos drove the getaway car. Now 19, Campos is facing 12 charges, including murder, felonious assault, improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation or school safety zone, discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises and tampering with evidence. He has pleaded not guilty. Campos' trial is set to start in Rothgery's courtroom on Nov. 6, according to court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.