The appeal of a Warren man who was convicted in 2023 in the 2022 murder of a man during a cell phone sale has been denied.

According to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office, 19-year-old Gavin Roberts filed an appeal for his conviction of aggravated murder and aggravated robbery with firearm specifications.

He is currently serving 42 to 47-and-a-half years in prison on these charges.

In his appeal, Roberts challenged the weight of the evidence against him, the decision to allow prior testimony from an unavailable witness, the judge's denial of Roberts's motion for mistrial and the court's imposition of his sentence.

Ohio's 11th District Court of Appeals found these claims to be without merit.

Roberts was convicted in the 2022 murder of 37-year-old Bryce Hilton of Farrell. The murder happened when the two arranged a meetup for Roberts to supposedly sell Hilton a cell phone.

At some point during the transaction, the deal went south and Roberts shot Hilton in the head when he tried to leave.

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