'Like brothers to me.' Two teens plead guilty to 2022 shooting deaths in Canton

Lawrence J. Collins III, 18, left, sits with defense attorney Aaron Kovalchik in Stark County Common Pleas Court. Collins was sentenced Friday to 18 to 22.5 years in prison for the shooting deaths of William Harvey Jr., 19, and Jeremiah Burton, 19, on March 28, 2022, in Canton.
Lawrence J. Collins III, 18, left, sits with defense attorney Aaron Kovalchik in Stark County Common Pleas Court. Collins was sentenced Friday to 18 to 22.5 years in prison for the shooting deaths of William Harvey Jr., 19, and Jeremiah Burton, 19, on March 28, 2022, in Canton.

CANTON ‒ Two men from the Cleveland area have admitted their roles in the 2022 slayings of William Harvey Jr., 19, and Jeremiah Burton, 19.

The defendants, who were 16 and 17 years old when the victims were shot at their home in the 3500 block of Ellis Avenue NE on March 28, 2022, both pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, each carrying a specification that a gun was used in the crime.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Kristin G. Farmer sentenced Lawrence J. Collins III on Friday to 18 to 22.5 years in prison. Collins pleaded guilty on Feb. 17.

She gave the 18-year-old Cleveland man credit for 303 days already spent in the county jail and ordered him to pay court costs. Upon his release from prison, he will spend two to five years on parole.

Co-defendant Jayvion Burkes pleaded guilty Friday as part of a plea agreement between his attorney Jeffrey S. Richardson and Senior Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Kristen L. Mlinar.

The prosecution is recommending Burkes get the same prison term as Collins. The judge ordered a presentence investigation for Burkes and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 21.

Burkes, a 17-year-old Cleveland Heights resident, had been scheduled to go to trial Monday on charges of murder, felonious assault, complicity to murder and aggravated burglary plus firearm specifications.

Jayvion Burkes, 17, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of William Harvey Jr., 19, and Jeremiah Burton, 19, on March 28, 2022 in Canton.
Jayvion Burkes, 17, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of William Harvey Jr., 19, and Jeremiah Burton, 19, on March 28, 2022 in Canton.

The sentencing range for involuntary manslaughter is three to 11 years, Farmer said. A specification that a gun was used in the crime means a mandatory three-year term.

Jeremiah Burton's dad talks about his son

When the time came for victims to speak at Collins sentencing, Thomas Burton talked about losing the son he had raised from infancy as a single father.

"He made me the man I am because I did something that I thought I couldn't do," Burton said. "I got him all the way up to 19 years of age for somebody take him away from me, all the way to 19. I just wanted to have a grandchild by him. I loved him. He was a good kid. He loved kids. He loved babies. Never hurt himself. Never fell off a bike.

"You ripped my heart out, man," he told Collins.

Burton reminisced about his son having a beautiful smile.

"Everybody talked about his smile," the grieving father said. "I still see him talk to me at night. He was a good kid, wouldn't hurt a bug."

Jeremiah's grandmother said she named him before he was born.

'Like brothers to me'

Given the chance to speak, Collins said he did not deserve forgiveness from the victims' families.

"I was a coward," he said. "Both of them were like brothers to me. They protected me on many occasions and I let them down. I let you guys down. My apologies won't ever be enough, but unfortunately that's all I have to offer. I'll pray every day that, you know, God will help heal the wounds."

Collins said that he sometimes feels the punishment he is receiving is not enough.

Burkes expressed his apologies when he entered his plea, even after his lawyer told him that the time for those comments would be at his sentencing.

"As I see and look into people's eyes, the families' eyes, I see the hurt, the pain and everything that has been caused," Burkes said. "As I turn around and look to my mother, I know it takes a lot out of her, the fact that she's losing her son, but she can see her son, she can hear from her son, she can touch her son."

Then, speaking about Burton and Harvey, he said, "Those young men, they don't have that right, and that family don't have that right."

The judge said that after listening during the pleas and sentencing, "It seems like this case embodies a tragedy in our community resulting from some sort of distorted notion that guns and shooting are the answer to any problem. And there seems to be an increasing loss of respect for life that has fallen upon, especially, the youth in our community. This tragedy will continue, and unfortunately escalate, until and unless such violence is seen as the problem and not the solution."

Farmer said Collins had been part of the problem, and would have the chance to be part of the solution.

"Unlike your victims, you will have the opportunity to come out of prison," she said. "You'll have the chance to live as a free person. And it'll be upon you to decide what kind of life you will live. Will you live a live a life the continues the problem? Or will you live a life that's a solution, that will honor the victims in this case?"

First report: Police investigating the shooting deaths of two 19-year-old men inside a Canton home

March 2022: 'Every day, there are gunshots.' Police aware of Canton neighborhood where killings took place

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cleveland-area teens admit roles in deaths of Canton men, both 19