Two brothers who entered no-contest pleas early this month to a robbery followed by a drive-by shooting were sentenced Thursday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, but only one got prison time.

Robert Juarez, 29, of the 2000 block of West Sylvania Avenue, received five years’ probation from Judge Ken Walz for stealing a cell phone from an unnamed victim outside the 5-Star Mini Market on Broadway Street after assaulting that person early in the morning of Jan. 9, 2024.

Ramon Juarez, 32, of the 800 block of Lorain Street, received four to six years in prison from Judge Walz for a drive-by shooting that followed in the 700 block of Thomas Street. Police said Ramon Juarez fired from a vehicle’s passenger seat at a parked car occupied by two people, one of whom was critically injured.

The elder Juarez was initially charged with two counts each of attempted murder and felonious assault, all with gun and drive-by specifications.

Although defense lawyer Meira Zucker asked for a probation sentence while saying the robbery and shooting was a complex situation, Judge Walz said the facts showed “this wasn’t just a sudden lapse of judgment” but rather an act of violence that endangered the Juarezes, the victims, and others.

The prison term represented a far shorter period of incarceration than Ramon Juarez faced under the original charges, the judge noted. For the attempted murder charges alone, the gun and drive-by specifications would have represented 16 years of mandatory prison time.

The elder Juarez received 437 days’ credit for jail time served following his arrest. His four-year base sentence could increase by as much as two years if he misbehaves in prison.

Ms. Zucker noted in court that additional prosecution against him is possible, and that she therefore advised her client not to address the court during sentencing.

Robert Juarez’s robbery charge was reduced from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony in prosecutors’ plea deals with the brothers.

First Published March 20, 2025, 9:41 p.m.