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LISBON -- Justin Givens admitted responsibility for the March 18, 2022 shooting death of Mary Ann McGuire by pleading guilty Monday to her murder, along with several other charges.
With the guilty plea, Givens will forego the jury trial that had been scheduled for next week and instead face sentencing at 9 a.m. July 18 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton.
Givens was supposed to face sentencing Monday for an unrelated case, but now that sentencing will be pushed to the same time as the murder case next week.
Givens showed little emotion as he said guilty when asked for his plea on each individual charge. He remains jailed under a $1 million bond.
County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Weikart told the judge a felony plea agreement had been reached and outlined the terms. Defense attorney Damian Billak said he had reviewed the agreement with his client. Bickerton reviewed the elements of the charges and the possible penalties.
Givens, 28, formerly of Salineville, had been indicted last year for unclassified felonies of aggravated murder and murder for allegedly causing McGuire's death at her Depot Road, Lisbon home, along with two counts of grand theft when the property is a firearm or dangerous ordnance, both third-degree felonies, two counts of tampering with evidence, both third-degree felonies, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor, and two firearm specifications.
As part of the plea agreement, Givens pleaded guilty to all the charges in the indictment except for the aggravated murder charge, which will be dismissed as part of the deal.
Weikart said he'll be recommending the mandatory sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the murder, 18 months each for the grand theft charges (concurrent to each other, but consecutive to everything else), 18 months each for the tampering with evidence counts (concurrent to each other, but consecutive to everything else), 10 months for the drug charge (concurrent), 180 days for the endangering children charge (concurrent) and then a mandatory three years for the firearm specification on the murder count, which will be consecutive to everything else.
According to Weikart, that adds up to 21 years to life in prison.
He said family members of the victim had been consulted about the plea agreement and indicated they want a chance to address the court, which was the reason for the sentencing being set for next week.
The theft charges involved guns stolen from the McGuire property, while the tampering charges dealt with Givens allegedly trying to destroy his cell phone and concealing a firearm. The drug charge stemmed from his possession of methamphetamine and the endangering children charge involved children being put at risk while he had a gun.
In the unrelated case, Givens had already entered a guilty plea and was awaiting sentencing on charges of improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, and a misdemeanor endangering children charge for a Dec. 26, 2021 traffic stop when he had a firearm in the vehicle with children present.
He had already been serving an 18-month term for charges of having weapons under disability and escape, with credit for 400 days he had already served in the county jail. He had a firearm when caught the day after the murder, but had been prohibited from having any guns. The escape charge involved his attempt to play sick in an effort to escape detention last spring after his arrest.
Also pending are two cases against Givens for possession of a deadly weapon while under detention, both first-degree felonies, for allegedly possessing weapons while in the county jail.
Family members of Givens and a representative of the victim's family were present for the murder plea.