A Youngstown man scheduled to face a jury next week for a 2024 homicide has instead admitted to his role in the crime.

Jules Freeman, 23, pleaded guilty Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to one count of involuntary manslaughter with a firearm specification. Freeman appeared before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney just days before his murder trial was set to begin.

Freeman was originally indicted on charges including murder, felonious assault, and drug trafficking following the shooting death of Allen May.

According to the written plea agreement filed with the court, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the murder charge and other counts in exchange for Freeman’s guilty plea.

The charges stem from a shooting on Jan. 22, 2024, near the intersection of Erie Street and Evergreen Avenue on Youngstown’s South Side. Police said May, 23, was wounded by gunfire and taken by a private vehicle to Mercy Health, where he later died. May was the brother of Persayus Davis-May, who was the victim of an unsolved homicide in 2021.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, the state is recommending a prison sentence of 14 to 19 and a half years. This recommendation includes a mandatory three-year term for using a firearm, which must be served before an additional 11 to 16 and a half years for the manslaughter conviction.

 Freeman remains in custody at the Mahoning County jail. Judge Sweeney scheduled his sentencing hearing for Jan. 16 at 9 a.m.