By Kimberly Pistone
For the Sidney Daily News
SIDNEY – Lashawn D. Hughes was sentenced to an indefinite term of 23 years to life in prison for the murder of truck driver Brandon Tyler Welsh on Aug. 30, 2023. Hughes was found guilty by a jury in the Shelby County Common Pleas Court on Sept. 12, 2024.
Hughes was found guilty on one count murder, a unclassified felony, with a specification of discharging a firearm from inside a vehicle, one count having weapons while under disability, a third degree felony, and one count tampering with evidence, a third degree felony. His sentence is 15 years to life for the murder, with an additional five years for the specification, and 36 months for both of the other charges, to run concurrent with each other, but consecutive to the murder and specification sentence. Hughes was granted 423 days of jail credit.
Hughes maintained his innocence at the sentencing and said he did not agree with the sentence he was given. His attorney, Laura Waymire, said Hughes has always maintained this was self-defense. Judge James F. Stevenson said he was present during the jury trial as well as the presentencing investigation, and the facts were that Hughes shot an unarmed man and ran the scene, and has since showed no remorse.
