Man involved in fatal Youngstown gas station shooting sentenced to life in prison with no parole

A grand jury has reached a verdict in the case of a man involved in a fatal gas station shooting in Youngstown in June of 2022.
The jury has found 69-year-old Samuel Byrd guilty of Aggravated Murder with Firearm specifications. Despite this verdict, Byrd denied committing this crime in the courtroom.
The charge stems from a shooting at a Shell gas station on South Avenue in Youngstown from June of 2022 that killed 29-year-old Keimone Black. Byrd spoke directly to Black's mother.
"Even though the court says I'm guilty, I assure you that I'm not. I have kids and I understand how you feel, because I just lost my nephew to a violent crime ... I feel your pain, and I hope that you and your family members do not hold this verdict against me or my family because I am not a guilty man," Byrd said.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum says in his many years of being a judge, he's never seen anything as "horrific" as the contents of the video of the incident.
"What is particularly disturbing to the court and I might add the community is that there is no rhyme or reason to what happened here. There was, as it appeared, no reason for you to act in this manner. You were not provoked, there was nothing the victim did to provoke you into such action," Judge Krichbaum said.
When questioned on why her son was killed without a motive, Black's mother says she believes Byrd had mistaken Black for someone else and described the incident as a "murder for hire."
This verdict came after days of witness testimony where many witnesses of the incident explained what they saw including a gas station employee and a passenger in Black's vehicle.
Byrd has been sentenced to life in prison without parole and three years consecutive for firearm specifications.
RELATED COVERAGE: