Though a jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a Toledo man on Thursday maintained that he shot Willie “Chucky” Riley in self-defense.
“I did not want any trouble that night and I only fired because I was scared for my life and I couldn't leave,” Dai-Shawn Henson, 24, of the 1400 block of Milburn Avenue told Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Stacy Cook just before he was sentenced. “I cannot stress the fact that I never wanted to harm anyone, and my deepest sympathies go out to the family.”
Judge Cook sentenced Henson to six years in prison, which included the minimum term of three years for involuntary manslaughter and a mandatory three years for a firearm specification. He was convicted at trial Nov. 9 of the first-degree felony, which carried a maximum possible sentence of 11 years.
Judge Cook said she knew her sentence would not make either family happy — not Riley's family who wanted a longer prison term, not Henson's family who did not understand why he was convicted in the first place.
She said jurors told her after the verdict that they were conflicted over what happened in the split seconds between Riley, 32, threatening Henson, and Henson firing his weapon, which he had a permit to carry.
“I have never had a jury struggle with the emotion of this to the level that they did,” she said. “...They struggled very hard with whether or not this was a self-defense situation or whether it met the elements [of involuntary manslaughter.]”
Henson and his girlfriend were playing cards with a friend and Riley Feb. 14 when a very intoxicated Riley began making inappropriate comments. At one point, Henson and his girlfriend were trying to leave the Pinebrook Parkway apartment building when Riley swung a liquor bottle at Henson, prompting him to draw his gun.
Riley dropped the bottle and backed away, but when Riley's brother walked up and picked up the bottle, Riley spit at Henson, and Henson fired several shots. A bullet struck Riley in the back as he was fleeing down the stairs.
“The only reason my firearm was ever exposed was because I got struck with the bottle,” Henson told the court. “The only reason my firearm ever went off was because I was in fear for my life. I fired three shots, and I stopped as soon as I knew I could get out of that laundry room safe and unharmed. I never knew that someone would die as a result.”
Riley's mother, Cecilia James, said she could not understand the violence that took her son.
“It's a senseless act,” she said. “My son, I felt like he put his hands up surrendering and I feel like he was going down the steps with his back turned. I just feel like he shouldn't have been shot in the back. That's just not right.”
Judge Cook told Ms. James that she reviewed the surveillance video that showed the first shot striking the molding of the door and debris falling from the ceiling, and “sadly in those moments without even actual aim your son was hit.”
“This is one of those scenarios where we watched it all play out on video, and the nuances of that were very critical,” Judge Cook said. “The jury was very much caught up in those split seconds, and they made the decision as the law required.”
Defense attorney Ronnie Wingate argued for a lenient sentence, pointing out that Henson had no criminal record as an adult or juvenile, that he worked full-time, and that he was not the aggressor on the night of the shooting. He had tried to calm the situation.
“Both families are suffering,” Mr. Wingate said. “One from an irreparable loss and one from a loss that is going to take a young man who, from all indications, has been a model citizen in the community, that has been a model father, and has provided for his family.”
Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.
First Published November 30, 2017, 5:23 p.m.
