Tyree Feaster, an Akron man freed from prison in February in the 2007 shooting death of a teenaged girl, was arrested Saturday night on felony weapons charges. Feaster, 22, is accused of carrying a concealed weapon, tampering with evidence, illegal weapon possession and receiving stolen property. He is in the Summit County Jail pending an appearance in Akron Municipal Court today.
Akron police arrested Feaster shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday after officers responded to a call of gunfire in the 900 block of Moeller Avenue on the city’s near west side.
Police say they saw a man running and tossing a 9 mm pistol. Feaster was eventually caught and taken into custody. There were no reports of injuries related to the gunfire. The gun was traced to a dealer on Manchester Road, where it had been reported stolen, police said.
Feaster’s attorney, Jana DeLoach, declined to comment Sunday.
Feaster was released from prison in February after an appellate court ruled he could retract his guilty plea after serving about four years in the death of 18-year-old Shawrica Lester, a bystander killed when gunfire erupted in a crowded parking lot outside the Cage nightclub in Akron.
County prosecutors could have retried Feaster but they declined, citing an “epidemic of amnesia” by witnesses and laws blocking them from using Feaster’s guilty plea against him.
In January, the Ohio Supreme Court ended years of appeals when it dropped Feaster’s conviction based on a procedural error committed when he was sentenced in 2007 after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault and gang and aggravated rioting charges.
His sentence was supposed to be a four-year juvenile prison term that would allow for his release when he turned 21. However, based on Feaster’s refusal to testify against a co-defendant and his conduct while in juvenile custody, Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio extended his sentence to 13 years under the state’s Serious Youth Offender law.
Appeals followed and it was eventually determined that Teodosio failed to inform Feaster that his sentence included five years of parole once he was released from prison. At the same time, the appellate judges granted Feaster’s request to withdraw his guilty pleas.
Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.
