Summit County Court

Alexis K. Martin, 17, was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 21 years for her role in the fatal shooting of a 35-year-old Akron man.

(NEOMG file)

AKRON, Ohio -- A judge sentenced a 17-year-old girl to life in prison Tuesday for helping a group kill a man who ran a house described as a den of drugs and under-aged prostitution.

Alexis K. Martin of Canton was sentenced by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tom Parker in the November 2013 death of 35-year-old Angelo Kerney. Martin pleaded guilty to murder and felonious assault in February.

Martin will be transferred to adult prison after she turns 18 and is eligible for parole after 21 years. She wept Tuesday as she apologized for her role in the plot that ended with Kerney's death and another man shot in the head.

"I wish I could take it back," Martin said. "I think about it every day. I can't explain how sorry I am. I really can't."

At the age of 15, Martin worked as a prostitute for Kerney, her attorney said.

On Tuesday, Parker explained that Kerney often dangled the promise of drugs before her and other girls to keep them working for him.

Martin told friends that Kerney might make a good robbery target since he kept drugs and money at the house on Edwards Avenue near Carpenter Street.

"I would challenge anyone to find a greater set of obstacles for someone to overcome in their life than the ones Ms. Martin has dealt with," Parker said. "It's almost beyond comprehension that someone that's 15 years old would be involved in that kind of work."

Kerney allowed Martin and Janae Jones into his home in November 2013, the night he was killed. Martin danced and had sex with Kerney and an 18-year-old man at the home.

Travaski Jackson and Deshaun Spear burst into the home, ransacked the house and shot Kerney to death. An 18-year-old was also shot in the head. He survived.

Defense attorney Noah Munyer described Martin's upbringing Tuesday as one filled with sexual and physical abuse. Martin also abused drugs and alcohol at a young age and reads at a fifth-grade level.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Pete Daly argued for a 26 years-to-life sentence because Martin played a key role in the crime and initially refused to cooperate with investigators.

Daly also highlighted a report compiled by Dr. Lynn Luna Jones of the Psycho-Diagnostic Clinic that characterized Martin as a bully with a history of fighting, abusing animals and manipulating.

Martin is the last of her co-defendants to get sentenced. Spear was sentenced to 41 years, and Jackson was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 31 years. He is also serving a 27-year sentence in a similar but non-fatal robbery in which he used women to distract the resident while he stole items.

Janae Jones was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 15 years.

Munyer unsuccessfully argued throughout the case that it belonged in the juvenile court system. Munyer asked for the judge to appoint an attorney to handle Martin's appeal.

Kerney's mother, Marjorie Rumph, acknowledged her son's criminal past and Martin's age, but said that her son didn't deserve to die.

"My heart goes out to her, but my son would still be alive if she didn't take those boys there," Rumph said. "I hope she does change and I pray for her, but nothing can bring my son back."

Martin's mother, Crystal Bowers, said after the hearing that she tried to get help for her daughter, but was turned away by several public programs. She said that she pleaded with police and court officials to keep her daughter in jail so that she could get help for mental illness.

"The system was not there for her or for us," Bowers said. "The system failed."