Man sentenced to life in fatal 2011 Valley Park death
A 29-year-old Baton Rouge man was sentenced to life in prison Friday in the April 2011 drive-by shooting death of a woman in the Valley Park neighborhood.
An East Baton Rouge Parish jury found Jonathan Dewayne York guilty in December of second-degree murder in the killing of 37-year-old Shantell Johnese, and possession of an illegal firearm by a convicted felon.
State District Judge Mike Erwin sentenced York to a mandatory life term without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence on the second-degree murder conviction, and a concurrent 15-year term on the weapons conviction.
Prosecutor David deBlieux said York, who was friends with the victim’s father, previously turned down an offer to plead guilty to manslaughter in return for a 40-year prison sentence. The victim’s father had asked that a manslaughter plea be offered to York, the prosecutor said.
DeBlieux said York and the victim had a dispute of an unknown nature.
York, who lived in the 2400 block of Valley Street, shot Johnese as she stood in front of a home in the 2200 block of Valley, police have said.
York’s court-appointed attorney, Stephen Sterling, indicated York plans to appeal his conviction.