Zimbabwean gets 6 years for US shooting

Zimbabwean gets 6 years for US shooting

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By Staff Reporter

A ZIMBABWEAN man was starting a six-year-jail term this week in Fairfield, United States, after being convicted for shooting an acquaintance in the head.

Police say the shooting was bizarre, as "there was no motive, no feud, no argument, no confrontation."

Munashe Clive Zimuto, 24, of Colerain Avenue in Cincinnati could also be deported due to his felony conviction, according to the court.

He pleaded guilty to felonious assault after the charge was reduced from attempted murder.

The charges stemmed from the June 14, 2003, shooting of Jude Scott, a native of Liberia.

The prosecution called the shooting “bizarre” because it seemingly came out of nowhere, said Assistant Prosecutor David Kash. The men had been business acquaintances and had no history of bad blood between them, Kash said.

“It was an unexplained shooting,” Kash said.

At the sentencing, Zimuto said he wanted to apologise to Scott.

Scott, who has been in the United States for nine years, did not attend the hearing and had not submitted a victim impact statement to the court.

“I am very sorry for what happened,” Zimuto said.

Just prior to sentencing, Zimuto asked to withdraw his guilty plea and take his chances with a jury.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Charles Pater denied the request.

Zimuto’s attorney, Noah Powers, noted his client had no other known felonies on his record.

He asked Pater to take into consideration Zimuto’s likely deportation as part of the punishment. Zimuto had been in the United States since 2000, according to the prosecution.

Pater said although the victim has recovered, Zimuto’s actions were “extraordinarily serious.”

“No matter what contentions you had about the sale of this car, none of that justifies coming after somebody, chasing someone down and putting three bullets in their head,” he said. “This could easily have been a murder case.”

He sentenced Zimuto to six years — two years short of the maximum — and fined him $10,000. Zimuto has about 18 months of jail credit.

After the hearing Powers said the sentence was “on the higher end of the scale.”

Kash said the sentence was appropriate.

According to Kash, Zimuto had purchased a vehicle from Scott and was slightly behind in his payments at the time of the shooting. On June 14, 2003, Zimuto had arranged to meet Scott on Eastpointe Drive in Fairfield to pay some money on the car, Kash said. He did not have the full amount, Kash said.

Scott told authorities he looked away for a moment as Zimuto counted the money and that’s when Zimuto shot Scott three times in the back of the head with a small caliber gun, according to Kash.

Zimuto later told authorities that he had been buying the gun from Scott, not making a car payment, Kash said. However, Scott denies selling Zimuto the gun and there is no evidence to back Zimuto’s story up. Kash said.

After the shooting, Scott drove to the Performance Honda showroom on Ohio 4 seeking help. Zimuto led police in a car chase that ended in a crash, then a foot pursuit involving four Hamilton County police agencies.
Additional reporting Journal News
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