Canton teen sentenced to prison for shooting that injured 2 at Sweet 16 party

CANTON ‒ A young man who was shot at a Sweet 16 party can no longer run track because he has a bullet in his chest, one of four that hit him on April 29.

Vanetra Smith told a judge about her son's injuries before the teen who shot him was sentenced on two counts of felonious assault and related gun specifications on Tuesday, when his assailant pleaded guilty.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn L. Heath sentenced 16-year-old Anton J. Nash of Canton to 12 to 15 years in prison for the offenses, which occurred at the American Legion Post 44 at 1633 Cleveland Ave. NW.

"Our family was extremely affected by this," Smith said. "I'm very upset about this. That's my son."

Her son also was shot in the neck, leg and arm.

A second victim was also shot.

The shooting occurred just before 9 p.m. at a birthday party that turned violent inside a banquet room. In a 911 call, a man who identified himself as the cook told a dispatcher he heard eight to 15 gunshots. Another caller was a girl who begged to be let out of the building because she needed to find her sister. Another caller said a large group of people were barricaded inside the building.

The sentence and plea were part of an agreement negotiated between the prosecution and the defendant, said Kassim Ahmed, assistant county prosecutor.

As part of the plea deal, the judge dismissed charges of attempted murder and inducing panic at Ahmed's request.

Seated next to his attorney Jeffrey Jakmides, Nash declined to speak at the sentencing hearing. Jakmides said Nash should get credit against his sentence for about 10 months already spent in detention since his arrest.

Heath said his sentence could be reduced 5% to 15% for good behavior. Bad behavior could extend the 12-year sentence to the maximum of 15 years. He will be on supervised parole for 18 months to three years after his release.

Teen charged as adult: 16-year-old Canton boy charged with attempted murder following shooting at Sweet 16 party

After sentencing, the defendant's mother, Ruth Knight, said her son was shot twice in each leg, pistol-whipped and jumped at the party by multiple individuals.

A second defendant charged in the same incident was given probation when his case was resolved in juvenile court, said Christian Turner, spokeswoman for Stark County Prosecutor Kyle L. Stone.

The boy, who was 15 at the time of the party, had been charged with evidence tampering, obstructing justice and receiving stolen property.

The second teen had a stolen handgun and hid it, according to police. Canton Police Chief John Gabbard said at the time that the stolen gun was not used in the shooting.

The Canton Repository typically doesn't name juveniles charged with crimes, but is doing so in this case because of the seriousness of the offense.

The case originated in Stark County Family Court before being transferred to Common Pleas Court.

Nash was 15 at the time of the shooting.

Frantic calls: 'We were at a party and he got shot.' 911 calls shed light on Canton shooting

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Anton Nash sentenced for Sweet 16 party shooting at Legion hall