'I felt like you put a bullet in me, too.' Canton man gets prison term for fatal shooting
CANTON ‒ Anna Hughson's life was turned upside down one summer day in 2021 after she left the Plain Township apartment she shared with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.
"What was supposed to be a normal day was the worst day of my life," Hughson said. "I came home to a crime scene. I saw the lifeless body of my husband (David Hughson IV) on the ground with blood everywhere. I felt like you put a bullet in me, too."
Hughson and other family members spoke Wednesday in Stark County Common Pleas Court during a sentencing hearing for Taben Armstead.
Armstead, 21, of Canton, previously pleaded guilty to felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery for Hughson's death. Both charges carry a gun specification.
Judge Taryn Heath sentenced Armstead to a minimum of 20 years in prison with a maximum of term of 22 1/2 years.
As part of a plea agreement with county prosecutors, charges of murder and felonious assault were dismissed.
Authorities said Armstead shot Hughson, 28, in the head while trying to steal marijuana from the victim on June 12, 2021, at 743 W. Commons St. NE. Armstead fled and was arrested in Massillon in November by members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
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Devastation for David Hughson's family
The victim's wife told Armstead his selfish and cruel choice took away her best friend. It also shattered her daughter's heart.
"She does not deserve to know a broken heart like this," Anna Hughson said. "She was his pride and joy. He should be here to see her grow and be part of her childhood memories. Almost two years later and she still wakes up crying out for her dad. She thinks more about going to heaven to see her daddy than normal childhood things."
When Armstead is released from prison, he will be able to see his kids, she said. Hughson's daughter will be 24 and won't have her dad.
"I hate that you got to choose this life for her," Anna Hughson said.
Hughson's mother, Lori, sobbed as she described the pain she lives with daily.
"On June 12, 2021, a big part of me died with David," she said. "I wish I were the one he shot. It would be easier if I lost my own life than to have lost the life I love more than my own. There is no greater pain for a mom than to lose a child. It breaks my heart when I realize he is never coming back."
The family's life is different now, tormented by Armstead's selfish act.
"I don't know what I wish for you but 20 years will never be enough," Lori Hughson said. "What kind of person are you? Do you have any regrets? Was it worth it? What were you thinking? I have so many questions."
Sisters Courtney Ayers and Ashley Millington described how their brother was loved by his nieces and nephews and loved being a father.
"His absence is agonizing," Courtney Ayers said. "He was a present, fun, goofy part of our family. Our holidays and special event are not the same."
She recalled her last conversation with her brother. He said he hoped one day she would have a child because he loved being a dad.
"He wanted that joy for me. I told my family I was pregnant last year but he wasn't here to celebrate," she said. "My son will never know his fun-loving uncle because you took that from him."
David Hughson's brother, Benjamin Fisher, called on Armstead to take what has happened, turn his life around and make something good come from the tragedy.
Fisher acknowledged he was once sitting in a courtroom just like Armstead. He was able to reform himself after a drug conviction.
"I can understand what it is like to sit in your shoes. I never took another one's life but I want to share a few things. All decisions have consequences. There was an impact, not only on my family, but yours as well. I believe transformation is possible no matter what you have done."
Fisher said Armstead could use his story as a catalyst for change and to inspire others. He suggested Armstead read in prison, starting with the Bible.
"You have a chance to rewrite history," he said. "I really feel that Jesus forgives."
'I'm not a monster. I have a heart.'
Armstead read a prepared statement. He told Hughson's family he was sorry and that what he did was wrong. He did not plan to hurt Hughson.
"I am not a monster, and I do have a heart," he said. "From the outside looking in it doesn't look like it."
Armstead said he didn't turn himself in because he was selfish and wrapped up in his own life. He was afraid to lose the "woman he loved with all his heart," his stepdaughter and his unborn child.
"I had pain in my heart that wouldn't go away," he said, noting he has turned his life around and moved away form the drug game and the wrong people.
He said he opted to forgo a trial in order to bring closure to both families.
"I am deeply sorry and I know that this is a very hard situation because it is going to be hard for me to move forward, for everyone to move forward," Armstead said. "I am human and I do have a heart. I don't know if I forgive me, either. I just want everyone to know that I am not who I appear to be. It wasn't intentional. l know hearing it out of my mouth and it is hard for me to say. I pray you forgive me, my family forgives me and more importantly, my kids and the victim's kid, forgives me as well."
Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com
On Twitter: @aknappINDE
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Taben Armstead sentenced to 20 years for killing David Hughson IV
