Connor Ball: Vincent Ballard sentenced in Eureka Road homicide
Mar. 14—JEFFERSON — Vincent Ballard, 24, of Conneaut was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to the murder of Tina Wheeler.
Ballard pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated murder and felonious assault in a plea agreement last week.
Ballard and three other individuals were looking to buy drugs on June 14, 2023, when two of them entered an old newspaper delivery truck on Eureka Road, according to reports. Ballard shot Wheeler and Wes Moore after they told him they had no money, according to detectives.
Detectives from the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant in the 1200 block of State Route 167 in Jefferson, looking for evidence and suspects in the shooting, according to an Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office report.
Detectives found evidence tied to the murder and in the process uncovered deplorable living conditions where they found five malnourished dogs, six puppies and two dead dogs, according to Sheriff William Niemi.
Moore told deputies that two men came into the truck, which had been converted into a living quarters, and attempted to rob them. When they told the subjects they didn't have anything, one of the subjects fired at them, according to a sheriff's report.
Wheeler, 40, was shot in the chest and Moore, 42, sustained a gunshot wound to his right leg. Both victims were transported to Ashtabula County Medical Center.
Ballard turned himself in to the Conneaut Police Department on June 22 after investigators spent several days looking for him. He has been incarcerated ever since.
"The hard work and efforts of the detective bureau, resulting in an extremely thorough investigation, led Vincent Ballard to plead guilty," said Sheriff's Office Detective Division commander Lt. Sean Ward. "Although we still have three defendants remaining, I consider this plea and sentence a win as Ballard was the main suspect."
