Dayton man sentenced to 18 years to life in wife’s shooting death

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Montgomery County Common Pleas Courtroom. JIM NOELKER/STAFF FILE

A Dayton man found guilty of murder in the shooting death of his wife will spend at least 18 years in prison.

Task Tresonard Moreland Jr., 38, was sentenced Thursday to 18 years to life in prison, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office. A jury found Moreland guilty in July of two counts each of murder and felonious assault.

Moreland’s defense attorney, Lucas Wilder, said Moreland plans to appeal and declined to comment on the case.

Task Tresonard Moreland Jr.

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

icon to expand image

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Dayton police responded on April 14, 2019, to a Ryburn Avenue apartment on a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found 38-year-old Tiffany Yvette Moreland shot in the chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police also found a 9mm handgun at the apartment, and an investigation determined Moreland shot his wife during an argument at the apartment, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Wilder filed for an acquittal or new trial following the jury’s verdict over the summer.

In the motion, Wilder wrote the verdict cannot stand because it was not supported by the evidence, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.

“When considering the believability and persuasiveness of the evidence, weighing the evidence and all reasonable inferences, considering the credibility of the witnesses, the jury clearly lost its way and created a manifest miscarriage of justice,” he wrote.

Wilder also argued a dispute between jurors — one of which was dismissed — could have affected Moreland’s right to an impartial jury.

The prosecution claimed they proved “each and every element” of the four charges and that science disproved Moreland’s claim his wife was shot in a struggle over the gun, according to court records.

The prosecution also wrote there was no evidence indicating jury misconduct took place.

Judge Susan D. Solle in January overruled Wilder’s motion for an acquittal or new trial.

About the Author