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WARREN -- A 26-year-old Youngstown man is sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Adam Spaid, 28, during a Warren home invasion in February.
Ronieque Requel was sentenced Tuesday by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Andrew D. Logan.
Requel was found guilty of two counts aggravated murder, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of having weapons while under disability, one count of intimidation and one count of receiving stolen property with the four gun specifications.
Over the duration of trial, county assistant prosecutors Christopher Becker and Gabriel Wildman had called some 15 witnesses, included many patrol officers and detectives who were at the Milton Street SE address where Spaid, 28, was shot to death. A Cuyahoga County doctor testified Spaid was shot 10 times, with massive injuries to internal organs.
One hour's worth of deliberation marked the fastest homicide guilty verdict in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court history.
Becker and Wildman had suggested the court sentence Requel to life without parole, asking the court to give him a "permanent home" that will protect the public from future crimes.
Logan accepted victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing, including from Spaid's mother, Debbie F. Batterby. She spoke briefly, fighting through tears, as she painted a picture of Spaid as someone who took care of her and extended his kindness to others. She now struggles with depression, she said.
Her parting words to Requel before sentencing were: "I will never forgive you for that, you took everything from me. I have never hated anyone till now. You took my life away."
Spaid's girlfriend Gabby McCullough, had testified against Requel, and the jury witnessed the unsettling moments a Warren police officer's body camera captured McCullough trying to help Spaid as he bled out on their kitchen floor.
A prepared statement was read on McCullough's behalf: "Feb. 5, 2023, is the day my entire life was changed … Fear has taken over me, and I was too afraid to leave my bed, let alone my house." She said she and Spaid had planned to marry and begin a family.
After sentencing, defense attorney Carlo A. Ciccone told Logan, with Requel in agreement, that they would file an appeal to the sentence.