A 40-year-old Akron man has been sentenced to 15 to 20-and-a-half years in prison for fatally shooting a 45-year-old Akron mother in August 2023.
According to court records, Dakinga York shot and killed Veronica Bell after a physical altercation.
Police were called to the 2200 block of 8th Street SW in Akron on Aug. 12 around 1:45 a.m.
When they arrived, they found Bell on the ground. She had been shot multiple times. She was transported to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center, where she died three days later.
Family members said they learned that Bell was trying to protect her friend, who got into a fight with her boyfriend inside the home. Relatives said it appears after Bell intervened, she decided to leave the home, but moments after she walked out the front door, she was shot several times in the back.
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York pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a firearm specification, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
