A man in Ohio accused of shooting and killing a transgender Toledo woman was convicted and sentenced this week.
Court records show Antonio Scott was convicted on a murder charge and a felonious assault charge. He was acquitted of a second murder charge. Judge Dean Mandros sentenced him to to life in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years on the murder charge and an indefinite term of 4-6 years on the felonious assault charge.
Scott was convicted for the murder of 23-year-old JoJo Striker. Police arrested him last year, five years after the murder. Police said DNA evidence led to Scott’s arrest.
After the courtroom proceedings, Shanda Striker, the victim’s mother, said: “It is exhausting but exhilarating at the same time. That should tell it all.”
Shanda Striker also gave a victim impact statement before the court Monday, highlighting the tremendous loss to herself and her family inflicted by Scott.
“The perpetrator in this crime tried to extinguish the bright shining light in my life, and many others,” she said. “Karma and God showed up today with a heavy dose of justice.”
Scott’s trial began Tuesday and was highlighted by testimony from Brian Lee, Sr., a former resident of the North Toledo neighborhood where the crime occurred, who said that Scott confessed the murder to him in jail.
Lee said that Scott told him in jail the shooting occurred after he discovered Ms. Striker, a sex worker known as “JoJo,” had male genitalia, and he demanded his money back.
Scott hit Ms. Striker with his gun several times before shooting her in the chest and then fled the scene, testimony said.
Ronnie Wingate, Scott’s lawyer from the central Toledo firm 1119 Adams Street Group, pleaded with Judge Dean Mandros to give Scott leniency, because of his age and his lack of criminal record outside of the 2017 matter at hand and a 2020 run-in where he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property, for which he was placed in a diversion program.
Scott was arrested and charged in Ms. Striker’s death in March, 2022 as a result of DNA evidence, submitted after the 2020 arrest, which tied him to the scene.
“If you look at his prior history, it is minimal at best except for these two instances that are years apart,” Mr. Wingate said, noting that his client plans to appeal but does not have the money to retain his own services and the court would need to appoint an appellate lawyer for him.
Still, Judge Mandros, who heard Scott’s 2020 case, emphasized that much of the sentence he was giving did not have leeway.
“This victim may have been a flawed human being in one or more respects, but a human being nonetheless — someone who didn’t deserve to be murdered in an abandoned garage like that,” Judge Mandros said during Scott’s sentencing.
“Once again, we have a teenager with a gun, and here is what happens. If you had not had a gun on you, there might not have been a death,” Judge Mandros said.
“It seems like I say it every week, there are too many people in this community with firearms that should not have firearms,” he added.
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