A man who fled to Tennessee last year to avoid arrest took responsibility Tuesday for two fatal shootings and was sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
Brandon Dodson admitted that he fatally shot 26-year-old Douglas Palmer Jr. in May 2023, then less than three months later, killed 42-year-old Nicholas Ledbetter .
Dodson, 24, pleaded guilty to two manslaughter charges as well as felonious assault and a gun charge. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker sentenced him to 20 to 25½ years in prison, a term that had been agreed upon as part of the plea.
Palmer's killing happened May 29, 2023 inside a Norwood home, according to prosecutors.
On Aug. 1, Dodson fatally shot Ledbetter while committing a robbery at an apartment in Springfield Township, police have said.
After that shooting, according to court documents, Dodson was driven to Clarksville, Tennessee, to avoid arrest. He ultimately was arrested in Tennessee in August 2023 and extradited to Hamilton County.
In court Tuesday, Dinkelacker told Dodson that he now has a chance to turn his life around.
"I hope you do that," he said.
Dinkelacker then addressed Ledbetter's family, who were in the courtroom, saying: "I hope you find peace."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man pleads guilty in separate 2023 killings in Norwood and Springfield Township
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