WARREN — An Ohio appeals court has upheld the conviction and prison sentence of a man found guilty in the shooting death of a 20-year-old at a Warren tavern.

The 11th District Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed the conviction of Zaa-Von Hameed, 43, who was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty in November of aggravated murder and an accompanying firearm specification in the May 13, 2024, death of Nathaniel Bradley at the Park Place 24 Tavern.

In his appeal, Hameed claimed ineffective assistance of counsel for his retained attorney’s failure to request a continuance to allow more preparation time. He also claimed the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on sudden passion or a sudden fit of rage and the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The appellate panel, led by Judge Matt Lynch and joined by Judges Scott Lynch and Robert J. Patton, ruled that both assignments of error were without merit.

On the ineffective assistance claim, the court found no evidence that counsel’s performance was deficient or that it prejudiced the outcome, noting counsel conducted cross-examination of witnesses and presented a self-defense theory. The court suggested any claims relying on evidence outside the record should be pursued through post-conviction relief.

On the jury instruction claim, the court noted Hameed forfeited the argument by not requesting the instruction or objecting at trial, reviewing only for plain error. The court found no plain error, as the evidence did not support a voluntary manslaughter instruction.

Hameed’s defense was self-defense, not that he acted under sudden passion or rage, and the second shot occurred after Bradley was on the ground.

According to the court documents, the shooting occurred around 2 a.m. after a physical altercation at the tavern. Security camera footage showed Hameed placing his hands on Darrelle Williams, leading to Williams punching Hameed. The fight escalated with Bradley and another man also punching Hameed. The video then depicted Hameed shooting Bradley first in the leg, causing him to fall, and then shooting him again while he was on the ground.

An autopsy confirmed Bradley suffered two gunshot wounds, one to the leg and a fatal one to the back that perforated his lung and heart.

No weapons were found on Bradley or the others involved in the altercation, except for a gun belonging to the bar manager that was not connected to the shooting.

Hameed was arrested about 12 hours later in Columbus.

Hameed had initially been represented by appointed counsel but retained new counsel one week before trial.

The jury found Hameed guilty after a three-day jury trial presented testimony from police officers, a forensic pathologist and the bar manager, along with the security video.

Hameed’s girlfriend, a bartender at the tavern, testified for the defense that she believed Bradley was reaching for a gun and that Hameed acted in self-defense.

He was sentenced Nov. 26, 2024, to life with parole eligibility after 20 years on the aggravated murder charge, plus a mandatory three years on the firearm specification.