“September 14 was the worst day of my life because of all the people that I hurt,” Leah Severt tearfully told Greene County Common Pleas Judge Michael A. Buckwalter. “I would give anything to take it back. I’m truly and deeply sorry for what I have done, and the pain that I have caused all of our friends and family, and especially Ed.”
Though their divorce and child custody arrangement was just recently finalized and one bullet is still lodged in his chest, Ed Severt said he advocated for probation.
“I was shocked,” Ed Severt said. “I was surprised it was four years. I thought it would be two years.”
Leah Severt’s attorney, Scott Calaway, will push for judicial release, which could mean she would get out of prison after six months. Calaway also asked Buckwalter for community control, pointing out that she was a nurse and administrator at Children’s Medical Center of Dayton and she had no prior criminal record.
“We understand where he was coming from; we respectfully disagree with it,” Calaway said. “I think the court was worried that this kind of case can be used as a precedent.”
Greene County Prosecutor Stephen K. Haller said this unusual case doesn’t change the fact that a man was shot twice at close range.
“You can’t shoot somebody and not go to prison,” Haller said. “No matter what the history, the marital difficulties, the anger, the infidelities ... whatever happened there is no justification for shooting somebody.”
As part of her plea agreement, Leah Severt has promised to help in the prosecution of ex-police officer Mark Roysdon. Roysdon is Severt’s former boyfriend and ex-Dayton and ex-Miamisburg police officer whom the Severts say provided the gun and told Leah Severt to fire the weapon.
Roysdon has pleaded not guilty to charges of complicity to felonious assault and inciting to violence. Roysdon’s final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for July 18.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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