Gun in Elyria Twp. school parking lot, threats get Lorain man 5 years in prison

A Lorain man who had a gun in his car and threatened a woman in a school parking in Elyria Township in August, then threatened her again earlier this year if she testified against him, has been sentenced to five years in prison for both incidents. A convicted felon who isn't allowed to have guns, Daymarion Whitten, 20, of Oakwood Avenue, pleaded guilty in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence, abduction, carrying a concealed weapon, improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, and illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone, all felonies, plus misdemeanor charges of possessing a defaced firearm, inducing panic and aggravated menacing. He also pleaded guilty to felony intimidation and misdemeanor aggravated menacing for online threats against the same victim that he made earlier this year. Judge Donna Freeman sentenced him to a total of five years in prison on both cases: Three years in the 2025 case and two years in the intimidation case, to run consecutive to each other. A message seeking comment was left for Whitten's attorney. Lorain County Sheriff's deputies responded Aug. 28, 2025, to a report that a man, later identified as Whitten, was seen with a gun in the parking lot of Westwood Elementary School on Adelbert Street. A staff member told deputies there was a man with a gun in a car that belonged to the mother of a student. The school went on lockdown. Deputies arrested Whitten and found a loaded 9 mm handgun with a defaced serial number, extended magazine and extra ammunition under a seat in the car. Whitten was on probation for a 2024 robbery conviction at the time. The woman told deputies she went to the school to deal with an issue involving her child. She said that Whitten, who was riding with her, took her cellphone, threatened her with a gun and accused her of cheating on him. No students or staff were harmed. The lockdown was lifted after approximately 25 minutes though the school was closed to visitors for the rest of the day. After getting out on bond, Whitten was indicted for intimidation and aggravated menacing in March. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office said he told the boyfriend of the victim that he would "shoot up the victim's house" if she didn't drop the charges in the 2025 case. Prosecutors said the threat, made on social media, included a photo of Whitten holding a gun in his hand. They asked Freeman to revoke his bond entirely, but he pleaded guilty to the charges before she issued a ruling. Whitten was charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing on March 17 in Lorain Municipal Court for allegedly threatening the mother of his child with a knife and punching her in the face. Whitten pleaded no contest to those charges on April 28. Judge Linda Webber sentenced him to 180 days in jail, with all of the jail term suspended plus credit for time already served, fined him $200 plus court costs and ordered him not to commit any more crimes for five years. The judge also ordered Whitten not to have contact with that victim for five years.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.