2 Akron residents plead guilty in 2023 shooting that left 1 dead, 2 injured

One day before they were scheduled to appear before a jury on July 9, two 27-year-old Akron residents pleaded guilty to charges including involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, in a shooting that left one dead and two injured in May 2023.

Meriah Lewis also pleaded guilty to assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, but had a firearm specification dismissed, according to court documents. She is represented by attorney Rhonda Kotnik.

Derren Lewis, represented by attorney J. Reid Yoder, also pleaded guilty to assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, and felonious assault, a second-degree felony, with an amended one-year gun specification. A second felonious assault charge and one three-year gun specifications were dismissed.

Shooting: 1 dead, 2 wounded after shooting on S. Main Street in Akron

They will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 16 in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross' courtroom.

Fatal Akron shooting from May 2023

Akron police responded to a shooting at 11:37 a.m. May 22, 2023, in the 1400 block of South Main Street. There they found two men, ages 26 and 29, in front of a home with apparent gunshot wounds and rendered medical aid.

Officers discovered a third victim, a 25-year-old man, in the 40 block of E. Emerling Street, a short distance east of where the first two men were found.

The three men were transported to the hospital, where the 29-year-old was pronounced dead. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office identified him as Darius Hoisten.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2 Akron residents plead guilty in 2023 shooting that left 1 dead, 2 injured