Man pleads guilty to fatally shooting another during baby shower last summer in Mansfield
A 23-year-old man has agreed to spend at least 23 years in prison for his part in shooting up a baby shower last summer.
Avanta Shemar Adams pleaded guilty Wednesday to 16 felony counts, including murder. He had originally faced 37 charges.
Adams faces a maximum penalty of life in prison with a possibility for early release after 23 years, according to Olivia Boyer, assistant prosecutor for Richland County.
The man's sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 23 in the courtroom of Richland County Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson.
Adams has been in custody since his arrest last August.
'Prosecution says you had that 9mm'
The case began last summer when Adams and Michael Lee Coffee Jr., 30, went to a baby shower at a friend's house.
An argument broke out during that celebration, Jason Bammann, who is now the city's police chief, told the News Journal during the investigation.
"We have little details at this point other than there was some type of an altercation between several subjects," Bammann said in August. "It appears that maybe subjects left and returned with guns. And there were multiple shots fired."
Jahajee Cobb, 25, of Mansfield, was shot and killed that night. Three other people were struck with bullets but lived.
Police arrested Adams and Coffee the next day.
Investigators discovered from the scene that two different calibers of guns were fired into the baby shower — the shot that killed Cobb was a 9mm.
"Prosecution says you had that 9mm," Robinson told Adams on Wednesday. "It was in your possession."
Adams will have to register as a violent offender upon release
The three shooting victims other than Cobb all recovered. No children were hurt.
Adams and Coffee were both assigned $1 million bonds after their arrests.
Robinson explained to Adams on Wednesday that by entering a plea he would forfeit his right to a jury trial.
The judge then went over the man's charges individually.
"How do you plea?" Robinson finally asked.
"Guilty," Adams said.
"I'm going to accept your guilty pleas," the judge said.
Robinson told Adams that, should he be released early from prison, he will need to register as a violent offender with the county sheriff every year for a decade.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Man admits to fatally shooting another during baby shower in Mansfield
