Athens County man could spend life in prison for deadly double assault

ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH) — A convicted killer from Guysville, Ohio was handed a hefty sentence Thursday for a violent rampage dating back to June 13, 2021.

A jury convicted Justin Arthur Pennington, 37, on charges including murder, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of felonious assault, and breaking and entering. According to the Athens County Prosecutor's Office, Pennington will serve a minimum of twenty-three years to life for those crimes, plus an additional four years and eleven months for previous cases where he received community control. His previous community control sentence stemmed from multiple felony counts of receiving stolen property and identity fraud.

“Numerous individuals put a lot of time and effort into seeing that justice was served," said Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn.

In a release, the prosecutor's office outlined the details of Pennington's crimes. On the day of the attack in 2021, he went to Blaine Sharpe's home in Lodi Township and "brutally assaulted" the man. The sheriff's office noted that Pennington then walked to Sharpe's daughter's house, and told her that he "just beat the pulp out of her father, he is laying on the porch and she better go check on him."

Sharpe subsequently died of his injuries, for which Pennington received a murder charge. The prosecutor's office added within an hour of Pennington killing Sharpe, he attacked another victim. Pennington used an aluminum baseball bat to assault Heather Irwin, on Fossil Rock Road.

When he was offered an opportunity to speak in court during the sentencing phase, Pennington told the victim's family he was, “sorry, very sorry,” and did not expect their forgiveness.