URBANA, Ohio (AP) — A teenager who pleaded guilty to shooting two students at an Ohio high school could face more than 23 years in prison for attempted murder, felonious assault and inducing panic.
FILE – In this April 1, 2017, file photo, defendant Ely Serna sits with attorney Dennis Lieberman in Judge Lori Reisinger’s courtroom in Champaign County Juvenile Court in Urbana, Ohio. Serna, who pleaded guilty to shooting two students at an Ohio high school in January 2017, could face more than 23 years in prison for attempted murder, felonious assault and inducing panic. (Jonathan Quilter/The Columbus Dispatch via AP, File)
Eighteen-year-old Ely Serna is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday in Champaign County nearly a month after he changed his mind about a trial and pleaded guilty.
He’d previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the January 2017 shooting at West Liberty-Salem High School in West Liberty, roughly 55 miles (89 kilometers) northwest of Columbus. One teen was critically injured. Another suffered minor injuries.
In a sentencing memo seeking leniency, Serna’s attorney says Serna has severe mental illness that contributed to the shooting.
Attorney Dennis Lieberman says Serna didn’t want to put the victims and school through a trial.
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