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Community Corner

Leonard Armstrong Gets Life in Prison for Murder

Kent man guilty of killing Jeffrey Sipes on June 5 will be eligible for parole after 15 years.

Kent resident Leonard Armstrong was sentenced to life in prison this morning during a brief sentencing hearing during which the only people who spoke were the judge and attorneys.

Armstrong, 49, of 112 Sherman St., had pleaded no contest Nov. 28 to two counts of murder in the June 5 death of Jeffrey A. Sipes, 57, who was June 6.

Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Laurie Pittman said both counts bring with them life imprisonment, with parole eligibility after 15 years and a $300 fine plus court costs, with 20 years to pay.

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Pittman, who met with the prosecution and defense attorneys in chambers before the hearing, said since the two murder charges  "are allied offenses of similar import," the state should elect to sentence on only one of the counts.

Thomas Buchanan, an assistant Portage County Prosecutor, requested that the two charges be merged and that Armstrong be sentenced to the maximum prison term and maximum fine of $15,000.

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Buchanan told the judge that Jim and Carol Sipes, brother and sister-in-law of murder victim Jeffrey Sipes, were present in the courtroom but did not wish to speak. They had provided a letter to the judge "for your eyes."

Pittman twice asked Armstrong, appearing in standard issue orange-and-white striped Portage County jail fatigues, if he would like to say anything, but he declined very quietly.

Public defender Frank Beane said Armstrong wished to pursue an appeal and had requested that new counsel be appointed to represent him during that process.

Armstrong had waived his right to a jury trial and to appeal any issues that may have arisen at trial. He pleaded no contest to both counts of murder — effectively admitting to the crime — in recognition of the fact the prosecutor's office had overwhelming evidence proving he killed Sipes.

Sipes was stabbed four times in the chest, according to the Portage County Coroner’s Office.

A registered sex offender, Armstrong had a history of criminal and mental health issues in New Jersey before moving to Ohio in 2008. Armstrong had been labeled in the lowest-risk category for a sexual offense that involved an adult female in New Jersey.

At the time of his arrest, June 22, Armstrong was a client at Coleman Professional Services Behaviorial Health in Kent and Ravenna, which among its services provides mental health counseling to people with behaviorial problems or severe and persistent mental illness.

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