YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A teenage boy who was found guilty of killing his 14-year-old friend in November of 2023 has been sentenced.

According to a judgement entry filed in the Mahoning County Juvenile Court in August of 2024, 15-year-old Masiahs Gentry was handed a sentence of three and a half years in the Ohio Department of Youth Services on a charge of reckless homicide with a firearm specification.

Gentry will be serving a minimum of six months on the reckless homicide charge and three more years on the firearm specification. This sentence cannot exceed his 21st birthday.

Gentry was convicted in connection with the shooting death of 14-year-old Logan Taylor. Taylor was killed while visiting Gentry home on Lucius Avenue back in November of 2023.

According to a judgment entry Taylor was sitting in a chair playing a video game while Gentry was playing with a gun and shot him. Taylor was taken to the hopsital and pronounced dead after being taken off life support two days later.

The judgement entry states that Gentry did not admit responsibility for the incident testifying in court that Taylor was the one playing with the gun and he was the one playing the game. However, the evidence did not support this claim.

The shooting was originally reported to be an accident, but police later found sufficient evidence to charge him with murder. However, the Juvenile Court determined reckless homicide was the more appropriate charge stating this was not a case of intentional murder, but reckless behavior.

Under Ohio law, Gentry could not have been charged as an adult no matter the severity of his offense because he was only 13 years old at the time. Taylor's family was looking to have that law changed. 

You can read more about that and Gentry's case in our related coverage below.

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