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LISBON -- Alyssa McGuire, the woman who initially lied to detectives investigating her stepmother's murder, must serve 180 days house arrest and remain under community control for five years for obstructing justice.
"You have one slip up, you're going to prison," Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton warned her during a sentencing hearing Friday.
Alyssa McGuire, 30, Depot Road, appeared with her defense attorney, Charley Kidder. Earlier this year, she pleaded guilty to the third-degree felony obstructing justice charge, along with charges from an unrelated incident for a fourth-degree felony of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and misdemeanors of obstruction of official business and endangering children.
The obstructing justice charge stemmed from what Alyssa McGuire told investigators on March 19, 2022, the day after her stepmother, 67-year-old Mary Ann McGuire, was shot to death at her Depot Road, Lisbon home on March 18, 2022.
Court documents from Columbiana County Municipal Court alleged that Alyssa McGuire failed to tell the truth about where she and Justin Givens had gone with their children and what they had done following the shooting.
Givens was sentenced to 23 years one month to life in prison for murder, two counts of grand theft when the property is a firearm or dangerous ordnance, two counts tampering with evidence, aggravated possession of drugs, and endangering children for killing Mary Ann McGuire and for actions after the shooting.
The other case against Alyssa McGuire stemmed from a Dec. 26, 2021 traffic stop on state Route 7 in Columbiana when loaded weapons were found in the vehicle which was also inhabited by her children. This case also involved Givens, who was the one driving, but Alyssa was seen by police switching seats with him and lied about it, claiming she was the driver.
As part of her probation, county Chief Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Weikart said she must continue the counseling she's been receiving, must abstain from alcohol and drugs and take parenting classes. She has a job, cares for her father and has custody of the two children she had with Givens, caring for them, too.
He pointed out that she later told the truth on her own and ended up helping the detectives with information that was corroborated by evidence. He believed Givens' downward spiral "scared her and opened her eyes to make better choices."
Kidder agreed with the sentence that Weikart had recommended for probation and house arrest, saying where his client was today was very different from when the charges came about. He said the counseling had been extremely helpful to her and she's "trying to make herself a better person."
The situation started with a boyfriend who's now a murderer and Kidder said Alyssa's eyes have been opened.
"My mother was an LPN," she said, adding that she wants to go back to school to become a registered nurse. "I want to finish what she started."
Bickerton interjected that she was disturbed by what she read in the pre-sentence investigation, questioning why she didn't pull away from Givens when she had an opening in that December 2021 arrest.
"You knew he was a threat," Bickerton said.
The judge noted that she appears to be moving on with her life, but reminded her that Mary Ann's life doesn't get to go on.
Alyssa said she loves helping people and said in the case of Givens, "I thought I could fix him -- he was unfixable."
She said he kept her away from her family for a long time and responded to Bickerton by saying, "If I could go back in time, I would."
Bickerton said this case was weighing heavily on her. She never met the victim, but told Alyssa it was very apparent from emails she read that "she loved you very much and she loved your children." She couldn't imagine what those children were going through witnessing her death.
Bickerton understood that Alyssa was fearful of Givens, that he threatened her life, her daughter's life and he threatened her family.
"I don't believe you intended harm to your mother," Bickerton said.
Weikart explained that Alyssa, Givens and the two children had gone to visit Mary Ann at her Depot Road home, she left to meet a friend for a walk on the Greenway Trail and then returned home and they were still there. There was an argument and Givens shot Mary Ann.
"The evidence points to him being under the influence of methamphetamine. Information provided through the investigation showed that Justin had been in a downward spiral," Weikart said.
He was having delusions, had not slept and had made threats towards Alyssa and their children. He was very controlling.
For the sentence, Weikart said he's satisfied that Alyssa has been handed the keys to the prison door. She can do what she's supposed to do or she can face the maximum sentence of up to four and a half years in prison.
Family members of Mary Ann McGuire were in the courtroom for the sentencing. They did not address the court this time, as they did when Givens was sentenced, but afterwards said, "the family would like to thank everyone for their kindness and support throughout this whole ordeal."
Givens is still facing two weapons charges for allegedly possessing a razor blade and a weapon fashioned out of copper while he was in the county jail. A status hearing remains set for Nov. 27, with a trial date of Dec. 4.