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LISBON -- An attorney for convicted killer Tyrell Travers filed an appeal Wednesday to challenge his client's sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the May 19, 2021 shooting death of Dion McMillon.
Travers, 26, of Wellsville, appeared for sentencing June 8 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton, who described his actions as calculating and warranting the sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole plus three years for using a firearm to kill the 26-yea-old victim.
"There are consequences for your actions. You made the decision in May 2021 to end the life of someone," Bickerton said before issuing the sentence.
A jury found him guilty in May of aggravated murder and murder, along with the firearm specifications.
During the trial, video footage showed a white Kia Soul slowly entering the area on the east end of East Liverpool near First Avenue and Elmwood with the lights off, then parking, then someone getting out and later returning to the vehicle and speeding away.
Evidence showed that Travers had rented a white Kia Soul and prosecutors argued that was him. Another video from Mapletree Street showed the victim getting into his car, being alone and then flashes of light from the 13 bullets fired into his car window on the passenger side, killing him as he sat in the front seat. A recording of the victim's last phone call was also played.
Defense attorney Walter Madison filed the appeal with the Seventh District Court of Appeals to challenge the judgment issued on June 8, which was the day of Travers' sentencing.
He noted on paperwork that a cause for review was the manifest weight of the evidence.
During the sentencing, Madison talked about the four choices before the court which included life without the possibility of parole or 20 years to life, or 25 years to life or 30 years to life, which would include a chance to get out. He noted that his client rejected an offer for 18 years to life and that life without parole would be a great disparity.
Madison asked the judge to consider a sentence of 20 years to life, citing some of his client's attributes, including the support of his family.
The victim, McMillon, left behind family and friends, including a young son who will be growing up without a father, the prosecution and the mother of the child pointed out during sentencing. They recommended the sentence and agreed with the outcome.