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COLUMBUS -- A Columbus man was sentenced Thursday to 32 years in prison for his role in the October 2022 shooting death of Youngstown State University student Kevin Sobnosky.
Keimariyon Ross, 20, was convicted of multiple charges, including two counts of murder.
Sobnosky, 21, and his friends had been attending a Halloween party at Ohio State University and stopped at a Sheetz gas station on Cassady Avenue to fill up their car before heading back to the Youngstown area.
Around 3:45 a.m., another group, which included Ross, arrived at the gas station. Ross and his friends spotted someone they had an issue with. Ross, then 18, fired multiple rounds from a Draco pistol at Sobnosky's vehicle, mistaking it for the car of someone who had fired at them.
One of those bullets struck Sobnosky, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, as it passed through the back window and the driver's headrest before hitting him in the head while he was leaning forward.
Despite Ross' claim on the witness stand that he fired in self-defense, video surveillance showed him standing up in a vehicle and firing more than six shots toward Sobnosky's vehicle.
Later, Ross testified that the shooting was a mistake but the court found him guilty of two counts of murder and multiple counts of felonious assault and attempted murder. Ross will be eligible for parole after serving 32 years.
A co-defendant, Tyyan Sullivan, 19, was arrested for his role in the shooting after he fired at Ross. He pleaded guilty in August to two of the eight charges he faced and will serve a nine-to-10.5-year prison sentence for two counts of felonious assault and a gun specification.
Kevin's parents, Laura and Damien Sobnosky, shared their thoughts following the sentencing earlier this year, reflecting on the pain they've endured since the loss of their son.
"We are greatly relieved that we have received some justice on behalf of Kevin, although nothing can bring our beloved son back," Laura Sobnosky said. "His convicted killer had to pay the price, the jury and the judge were able to discern the truth."
The Sobnosky family established two scholarships: The Kevin John Sobnosky Memorial Scholarship for Girard High School seniors and a soccer scholarship to honor both Kevin and his friend Adam Connelly, a Liberty High School soccer player, who died shortly after Kevin's death.