Lucas Williams sentenced for role in fatal shooting of Jessica Baker

A Lorain man was sentenced to at least nine years in prison for his role in a 2019 fatal shooting of a Clearview High School student. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi sentenced Lucas Williams to 8-12 years following his guilty plea last September to manslaughter in the death of Jessica Baker. Williams will also face another year in prison for a firearm specification on the charge, and Miraldi said following Williams' release from prison, he would face another two to five years of supervised probation. "I'm truly sorry for the pain that I have caused you, and I'm trying to man up to it and go about this the right way," Williams said at the sentencing. Williams was given credit for 129 days served, and Miraldi opted not to make him pay court costs or restitution, since Baker's funeral was paid for by students and staff at the high school. The shooting on Oct. 17, 2019, stemmed from an argument Williams had at a local gas station with Savion McCall and Christian Marshall over money. Baker was Marshall's girlfriend. The two cars drove off, and met again at a local Wendy's where a fight broke out. Williams and his friends returned to his home on West 25th Street. A white Jeep pulled up and shots were fired. Williams shot back, fatally striking Baker, who was riding in the front passenger seat. "This is just another example of what happens when guns are in the hands of young people and they want to respond to what's considered some attack on their pride or their reputation," Miraldi said in court. McCall was found guilty last week of complicity to felonious assault and murder. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Miraldi's courtroom today.