Painesville shooter sentenced to life without parole in 2025 killing

Lake County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey W. Ruple sentenced Aviantae Atterberry, a 22-year-old Painesville resident, to life in prison without parole for aggravated murder on Aug. 10, 2026, plus an additional 64 to 69 consecutive years on related charges in the downtown Painesville shooting that killed 20-year-old Wyllyam James Sheffey Jr.

Sheffey, of Ashtabula, was found shot while sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle at the intersection of North State Street and Rockwood Drive in downtown Painesville on June 7, 2025. Two other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the same incident.

A Lake County jury found Atterberry guilty in June 2026 of two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, four counts of discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises, six counts of kidnapping, and two counts of tampering with evidence.

Life without parole is one of the harshest punishments available under Ohio law for aggravated murder and, in some situations, is mandatory if the death penalty is not imposed. The consecutive terms on the related felonies ensure there is no legal pathway to release even if any portion of the sentence were modified on appeal or through future legal proceedings.

At sentencing, Sheffey's mother, Tiffany Phillips, described in a victim impact statement how every milestone that should have belonged to her son now comes with pain. Phillips said her son was "a ball of joy."

Atterberry is one of multiple co-defendants convicted in connection with the killing. Avion Gaines, 19, of Painesville, was sentenced to 70 years to life in prison. Lakeisha Jackson, 45, of Painesville, was sentenced to 49 to 53 years to life. Another defendant, Zy'avier Jackson, was found guilty of complicity to aggravated murder, complicity to murder, murder, four counts of felonious assault, four counts of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and six counts of kidnapping; his sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 27, 2026.

The Lake County Court of Common Pleas has countywide trial jurisdiction over felony criminal cases, meaning felonies from municipalities throughout the county—including Mentor—are prosecuted there after probable-cause proceedings in municipal court. The coordinated prosecution and life-level sentences in the Painesville shooting establish a benchmark for how the shared court system is adjudicating fatal gun violence that crosses municipal boundaries.