Man gets life in prison

SANDUSKY — A Sandusky man was sentenced to prison Monday for his involvement in a murder on East Madison Street. Jalen Jones, 21, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 18 years in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas Monday afternoon. Jones pleaded guilty to complicity to murder in October, which related to the shooting death of Sandusky man, Tavon Myers, in 2020. Myers, 41, was killed on Dec. 5, 2020. According to prosecutors, Jones and two men from Lorain bought drugs from Myers and later returned with firearms to rob him. Erie County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paulette Lilly said that Jones "orchestrated" the robbery and was the getaway driver the day of the murder. "The defendant was the one to determine that Myers was someone that they could steal from," Lilly said. "He cased the joint and was transport to and from the senseless murder that happened that day." One other man involved in the killing has already been sentenced, and another has an upcoming court date. Exavier Cruz and Lavelle Chapman were the two Lorain men with Jones that day. Cruz, 22, was sentenced in November to life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years on a count of aggravated murder. Chapman, 26, will face a jury trial on Jan. 11 on counts of complicity, theft and evidence tampering. Members of Myers' family gave victim impact statements at the sentencing, which appeared to indicate the victim had past contact with Jones. "You sat at my table and played with my son," said Bryonia Myers, Tavon's wife. "Now all they think about is guns, they can't feel safe. I feel so sorry for you." When given the chance to speak, Jones told Myers' family he was caught up in a "bad space." "I don't know what you're going through, I can't imagine," Jones said. "It's going to haunt me the rest of my life, it haunts me every day." Editor's note: This story was updated to correct information about Jones' co-defendants' court cases.