Beacon Journal staff report
An Akron man has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting his ex-girlfriend’s new companion.
Phillip Pope, 24, pleaded guilty in Summit County Common Pleas Court to murder and a gun specification charge Tuesday. Judge Tammy O’Brien then sentenced him to a mandatory life sentence with parole eligibility in 18 years.
He was charged with the Nov. 28 shooting death of Will Lamon, 21.
Prosecutors said Pope lay in wait on Buckingham Street in Akron about 10 p.m. and opened fire on Lamon’s car when it stopped near Fairbanks Place. Lamon was struck in the torso and died later at Summa Akron City Hospital.
Lamon was dating Pope’s former girlfriend, and the woman was in the car when the shots were fired, prosecutors said. The woman, who is also the mother of Pope’s child, identified Pope as the shooter.
Pope surrendered to police a few days later.
