Family addresses defendants in Goodhue murder
By Kathleen Folkerth
DOWNTOWN AKRON — The three remaining defendants in last summer’s homicide on Goodhue Drive in West Akron stood just a few feet from the parents of Jason Reaven at their sentencing April 9.
Just before Megan Brown, Kevin Roddy and Michael Mullen heard their fate from Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Bond for their role in the shooting death of Reaven June 22, 2006, Gerald and Lisa Reaven, of Bath, expressed their sorrow about the events that led to them losing their eldest son.
“If just one of you had said no, we wouldn’t have to be here,” Lisa Reaven told the three in the packed courtroom. “I hope you’ve all learned from what you’ve done.”
Gerald Reaven followed his wife with comments on how his son spent his last day. Jason Reaven had been working with his band in a recording studio before returning home in the early morning hours.
“This was a 22-year-old boy who was all good and was slain innocently by these perpetrators ... in the prime of his life,” Gerald Reaven said. “We will have to deal with this sorrow and grief for the rest of our lives.”
Following the Reavens’ statements, Bond said the case had been one of “great concern of this court and the community, the saga of how guns and drugs have destroyed lives and devastated families.”
She then handed down a sentence of 18 years total to Mullen, 27, of Akron; 13 years total to Roddy, 22, of Akron; and seven years total to Brown, 25, of Twinsburg. All three offered apologies to the family.
“I’m sorry to God I got caught up in something like this,” Mullen said to the judge.
According to Summit County Prosecutor
Sherri Bevan Walsh’s office, the three took part
in the crime along with Jason Jones, 23, of Akron, who
was sentenced by Bond in
February to life in prison. Reaven was a 2002 graduate
of Revere High School and a University of Akron student
who was an occupant of the house at 66 Goodhue Drive.
Walsh’s office reported
details about the crime at the sentencing. The four
defendants planned to rob Reaven’s roommate, who
was believed to be a marijuana dealer. Brown, the only
female involved, went to the door at approximately 2:40
a.m., and when the roommate answered, the three men
rushed through the door. The roommate fled, leaving
two visitors in the home, while Reaven was asleep in
his room upstairs.
The two visitors were
duct-taped to the floor of the
home by Roddy and Mullen, while Jones went upstairs
in search of drugs and money, the prosecutor said. When
Reaven came out of his room, Jones fatally shot him
one time in the chin. The four defendants then fled
the scene.
The two victims downstairs eventually
freed themselves and ran to a neighbor’s house
to ask for help.
In October, Akron police officers
arrested Mullen, Jones and Brown, and Roddy turned himself
in. All four pleaded guilty to charges related to the
crime.
Following the sentencing, the
Reavens commented on the sentences. “Nothing
can bring our son back, and the sentences were less
than I’d like, but I’m grateful that the
murderers were apprehended, tried and convicted,”
Gerald Reaven said.
He added that the family appreciated
the hard work of the Akron Police Department and the
prosecutor’s office.
Shown from left are Megan Brown,
Kevin Roddy and Michael Mullen, three of the four defendants
in the homicide of West Akron resident Jason Reaven,
as they listen to the remarks of Lisa Reaven, Jason’s
mother.
Gerald Reaven, the father of
Jason Reaven, addressed the three defendants just before
their sentencing April 9.
This Goodhue Drive home was the
site of the robbery and home invasion that ended with
the shooting of Jason Reaven.
Photos: Ken Crisafi
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