Originally charged with murder, Crossley took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter earlier this month.
In June 2018, a fight broke out in the parking lot of the Wagon Wheel bar, and shots were fired. Police found a woman performing CPR on 35-year-old Jahream Beard, who died at the scene.
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The shooting happened on Father’s Day, and it wasn’t long before a makeshift memorial was set up for Beard around a telephone pole near the bar with a stuffed animal bear and “Happy Father’s Day” balloons.
Prior to Crossley’s sentencing, one of Beard’s daughters, Lahela Beard, told the judge that she’ll never understand why this happened to her dad or their family.
“I hate that we gotta be here — doing this,” she said. “I just wish this was all a dream I could wake up from. But lastly I hate seeing my younger siblings’ faces, them asking me and their moms, ‘When is daddy coming home from heaven?’”
The courtroom was packed full with family members and friends of both the victim and defendant.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean for this to happen. I can’t take it back now. I’m just here to face the consequences for my actions,” Crossley said to the judge.
Crossley’s lawyer, Jon Paul Rion, told the judge that video evidence suggests that Crossley did not start the fight in the bar’s parking lot and he “initially shot up in the air to try to stop the fight, not to hurt anyone.”
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Prosecutors felt differently, arguing that Crossley “introducing” the gun to the fight set off a chain of events that ultimately led to Beard’s death and asked the judge to send him to prison for 14 years.
“I certainly take no pleasure in imposing prison sentences,” the judge said. “But sometimes the harm caused is just so great that the only sentence that’s warranted is the maximum penalty.”
While Crossley’s case was going on, he faced more charges when he was out of jail on bond. Having weapons under disability, carrying concealed weapons, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and drug possession charges stemming from that incident were dropped as part of Crossley’s plea deal.
After his release from prison, Crossley will be subjected to five years of post-release control.
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