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Wilkes University summer commencement ceremony set for Sept. 8

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Family and friends of Isaiah Jennings asked for leniency in sentencing on Tuesday morning before Luzerne County Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.</p><p>But Darnella Randolph, the mother of Trevor Oliver, of whom Jennings admitted to being involved in the killing of, asked where her son&#8217;s chance was.</p><p>&#8220;Give you a chance? Where was my son&#8217;s chance?&#8221; she asked, tears streaming down her face. &#8220;Two people in the house with a .357. Where was my son&#8217;s chance?&#8221;</p><p>Jennings, 21, was appearing before Sklarosky to be sentenced for his role in the Feb. 2018 robbery that led to Oliver&#8217;s death. He pleaded guilty in July to counts of third degree murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, on the same day his co-defendant, Robert Rodriguez, was sentenced for the crime.</p><p>Sklarosky ordered Jennings to spend between 18 and 36 years in prison on the murder charge, followed by an additional six to 12 years for the conspiracy charge, leading to a total of 24 to 48 years behind bars. However, he was given credit for 566 days behind bars already.</p><p>Jennings will also need to pay $3,790 to the coroner&#8217;s office, along with nearly $10,000 to Oliver&#8217;s family.</p><p>Jennings was additionally sentenced on a forgery charge he pleaded guilty to in August, where he admitted writing another person&#8217;s check out to himself. He was sentenced to between one and two years in prison, but that sentence will be served at the same time as the other ones.</p><p>On the day of the murder, Rodriguez, who police say orchestrated the attack against Oliver, went to Oliver&#8217;s home with Jennings with the intention to rob him.</p><p>Oliver&#8217;s girlfriend, Vanessa Batista, opened the door, and Rodriguez fired multiple rounds at at her before turning the gun on Oliver. Oliver died several days later, but Batista survived her injuries.</p><p>At Jennings&#8217; sentencing on Tuesday, family members of both Jennings, Oliver and Batista spoke out about how the incident affected their family.</p><p>Jennings&#8217; mother, Brooke Jennings, begged Sklarosky for a lenient sentence, saying Jennings&#8217; role in the crime was a result of being mixed in with the wrong crowd.</p><p>&#8220;He was a teenage kid who showed his flaws for being with the wrong people at the wrong place,&#8221; she said.</p><p>&#8220;Please give him the opportunity to get a second chance and show his brothers and sisters not to make the same mistake,&#8221; she went on.</p><p>Jennings himself spoke, apologizing to both his family and that of the victim. He promised to use what he&#8217;s learned through this experience to become a better person.</p><p>&#8220;This is not the end of my life,&#8221; he said tearfully. &#8220;I&#8217;m gonna better my life. I&#8217;m gonna get everything out of jail that I possibly can.&#8221;</p><p>His defense attorney, Bernie Brown, called Jennings a &#8220;man of his word,&#8221; saying he believes Jennings has taken full responsibility for his involvement in Oliver&#8217;s death, noting that he attempted to assist the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s Office in the capture of Rodriguez by providing information.</p><p>But for Oliver&#8217;s family, Jennings&#8217; promises to become better came too late.</p><p>Robert Eckford, Oliver&#8217;s brother, said to Jennings that the whole night of the crime was &#8220;about choices,&#8221; and he made the choices that landed them all at the sentencing.</p><p>&#8220;Every tear you cried for what you did, I saw my mother cry thousands of tears for a year and a half,&#8221; he boomed.</p><p>Oliver&#8217;s mother, Randolph, gave a powerful statement, asking what the point of the robbery even was.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m tired of people being murdered by senseless killing,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And for what?&#8221;</p><p>Before handing down his sentence, Sklarosky echoed what Randolph said, calling the crime senseless.</p><p>Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a homicide charge, along with additional charges stemming from his non-fatal shooting of tattoo artist Lamont Garcia, whom Rodriguez felt botched a tattoo job. Sklarosky sentenced Rodriguez in July to spend a total of between 24 years and nine months to 57 years in state prison.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jennings </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/web1_TTL021618Jennings1.CMYK_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jennings </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jennings to spend up to 48 years in prison for 2018 homicide