Man guilty of Rowan murder sentenced on additional charges | News, Sports, Jobs

Staff photo / Ed Runyan Brandon Crump and his attorney Lou DeFabio attend a hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.

YOUNGSTOWN – The final obstacle to Brandon Crump Jr.'s release from the Mahoning County Jail to begin serving his 52-year to life sentence occurred Thursday afternoon in front of a handful of people.

Crump, 21, pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to escape and robbery – offenses he committed on Nov. 15, 2020, while in custody at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center. He was 17 at the time and was charged with aggravated robbery in connection with the killing of 4-year-old Rowan Sweeney, but he was not charged with killing Rowan or shooting anyone.

Only later was Crump charged with aggravated murder in connection with Rowan's death and additional charges related to the killing, robbery and shooting of adults at a home on Perry Street in Struthers on September 21, 2020.

Much later, he was identified as Rowan's killer and also as the shooter of the adults. The aggravated robbery was related to the theft at the Perry Street home, but officials were unwilling in 2020 to describe what role Crump played.

Crump was sentenced to 52 years to life in prison on July 29. He was the last of the three men charged in the case. Crump's hearing on Thursday was classified as a “status conference,” which normally means it's just a meeting among attorneys. But this time, Crump was brought in and the case was brought to a close.

Rowan's family has attended most of the hearings in the murder case, but she and the victims from JJC “have chosen not to be present today,” said Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bonish. Besides court staff, deputies and two attorneys, only one reporter was present.

Escape and robbery were second-degree felonies, and Crump pleaded guilty to both counts. Judge Anthony D'Apolito sentenced Crump to the maximum penalty – eight years in prison for each offense – but ordered that those sentences be served concurrently with the 52 years to life for the murder and shootings.

Officials thought it would make sense to separate the escape and robbery charges from the murder and shooting charges for Crump's trial.

During the escape on November 15, 2020, Crump, then 17, and two other youths overtook a guard at a juvenile detention center, ran into an outside courtyard and climbed over a fence.

Bonish told Judge D'Apolito on Thursday that Crump “joined forces with two other students that were there. They attacked one of the security guards. They ambushed him. One of the assailants got his hands on his radio. (Crump) actually punched him in the face. They were able to wrestle his keys and take them, and they made it out of the facility to the fence.”

She said another officer “discovered Mr. Crump while he was still on the fence – a chain link fence with barbed wire. He climbed over the fence. The squad leader ordered Mr. Crump to get down from the fence and at that point Mr. Crump complied and was physically escorted back to the JJC without further incident,” she said.

The other two teenagers were recovered in the weeks that followed. The incident occurred just weeks after Crump was arrested in the Struthers case.

Bonish recommended that Crump receive the maximum sentence for the crimes, but believed that the 16 years should be served concurrently with that in the Struthers case because Crump had already received the “maximum sentence” in the murder trial.

She clarified that the robbery involved a physical attack on the security guard and the theft of the radio and keys.

Crump's attorney, Lou DeFabio, pointed out that the judge was familiar with the facility because Judge D'Apolito worked there as court administrator before his tenure.

“He never made it out of the premises,” DeFabio said. “There were no serious physical injuries.” No weapon was taken. “At the time, Mr. Crump was only charged with aggravated robbery,” DeFabio said.

He said Crump's age at the time had to be taken into account, adding: “I don't think any of the other offenders got 16 years for this.”

Before announcing the sentence, the judge noted: “For me as an administrator, as a person who worked there, it would have been terrible if someone had escaped. That is one of the worst things that can happen.”

But compared to Crump's conviction for aggravated murder in Rowan's death, attempted murder in the shooting of the four adults and other charges, the escape and robbery were “not as significant as anything else.”

Crump will receive credit for the nearly four years he spent in juvenile detention and the Mahoning County Jail in the Struthers case. DeFabio said he will file appeals on Crump's behalf in the Struthers and juvenile detention cases.

When the hearing was over, DeFabio turned to Crump, shook his hand and said, “All right, kid. Good luck.”

Do you have an interesting story? Contact Ed Runyan by email at [email protected]. Follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @TribToday.