A Cleveland man who shot another man in the chest in a Cleveland hotel will be spending the next 75 months in prison. Wallace Beard reached a plea agreement and was sentenced by Judge Travis McDonough.
Defense attorney Presita West told the court about her client’s long crime-free history in between his two offenses. She said Beard had spent 20 years at the same company and had had been married.
“Mr. Beard has accepted responsibility, and there’s evidence he is both employable and has skills,” attorney West said. “He’s hard working, but he did not make the best choice.”
Judge McDonough said the fact that the defendant has been employed at one place for 20 years in between his two felonies, is different from the norm, but he also said Beard is fortunate the victim survived.
“There’s no difference between what he did and murder, other than that the victim survived,” Judge McDonough said. “This was not a snap decision. It bubbled up, and a fair amount of time passed.”
Attorney West said Beard “will sit and process” his actions while in prison, and said she was not asking him to be released. Meanwhile, prosecutor Scott Winne said Beard’s lack of criminal history aside from felonies 20 years apart was significant. He agreed to the downward variance from the minimum 87 months to 75.
“It was out of character and an aberration,” the prosecutor said. He also said the victim was not “squeaky clean” and that there were actions that happened before the shooting that may have provoked the action.
“I apologize for this happening, and if I could change what happened, I wouldn’t have done it,” Beard said. “Since I’ve been incarcerated, I’ve been taking anger management classes.”
“It’s incredibly unacceptable what you did to the victim,” the judge said. “Nothing about this makes sense, but the lawyers have done a good job of convincing me.”
After him, Antonio Evans was sentenced to 53 months in prison for his role in a 2020 shooting. Like her previous client, attorney West told the judge that Evans has been well-employed, and that at just 27 years old, he still has time to become a better citizen.
“You’ve had good jobs, but you get distracted by things,” Judge McDonough said. “We’re not asking for a lot. Just take care of yourself and take care of your family.”