The family of Robert Jarvis was hoping the retired teacher with no criminal record would get probation for a bar fight that left another man dead.
The family of Forrest Ryan, the man Jarvis admitted to killing, wanted Jarvis to get the maximum prison term.
Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Todd McKenney made neither family happy Wednesday, sentencing Jarvis to four years in prison.
“It was a bar fight,” McKenney said. “He didn’t go to the bar to work as a DJ intending to kill Mr. Ryan.”
Jarvis, 65, of Akron, was working as a DJ at the Zodiac bar, 1955 Triplett Blvd. in Akron where prosecutors say he got into a fight just after midnight Jan. 8 with Ryan, 43, of North Canton. They say Jarvis punched Ryan multiple times in the head and Ryan died of the injuries.
Jarvis pleaded guilty last month to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, under an agreement with prosecutors. He faced up to 11 years in prison.
Family members and supporters of Jarvis packed the courtroom and sent more than 20 letters of support to McKenney.
Jarvis was a teacher for 30 years, with the last 10 as a special education teacher at Windfall School in Medina County.
Relatives of both men spoke at the sentencing.
Patricia Davidson, Ryan’s mother-in-law, said her son-in-law played football at Hoover High School and West Liberty University and coached youth football and baseball. She said he was “always smiling and upbeat.”
“He didn’t deserve to be beaten to death,” Davidson said, adding that the family wanted Jarvis to get the maximum.
Megan Frantz Oldham, an attorney for Ryan’s family, read statements from Stacy Ryan, his wife, and Samantha Ryan, his 12-year-old daughter and one of his three children.
Stacy Ryan recalled getting the call in the middle of the night that her husband had been killed. She said she was half asleep and thought her husband was playing a joke on her. She said the reality set in when a nurse asked her, “Where should the body go?” and when she had to break the news to their children the next morning.
“I couldn’t protect them from this,” she said. “I couldn’t take the burden on myself.”
Samantha Ryan said in her letter that her father was her best friend and pointed to milestones he’ll miss, like teaching her to drive and walking her down the aisle at her wedding.
“Everything has changed because of how that man killed my daddy,” she said.
Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Greg Peacock said the altercation between the two men, captured on video, appears to be unprovoked. He said he isn’t sure what words were exchanged between the two men, but Ryan was in another part of the bar when Jarvis confronted him and then punched him numerous times in the head.
“It might not have been his intention to kill, but he made the conscious decision to inflict harm,” Peacock said.
Alecia Jarvis, Jarvis’ daughter, tried to contain her sobs as she spoke, describing her father as a wonderful dad and grandfather.
She said her father, a Vietnam War veteran, inspired her to serve as well. She urged McKenney to be lenient in his sentence “so that he can know his grandchildren and so that we don’t continue to suffer.”
Mike Callahan, Jarvis’ attorney, called what happened an “aberration.” He urged McKenney to consider probation or a short prison sentence.
Jarvis, who wiped away tears after his daughter spoke, apologized to both his and Ryan’s family. He said Ryan was his friend.
“I wish I could bring him back but I can’t,” he said.
McKenney said to not sentence Jarvis to prison would demean his violent act. He noted that Jarvis followed Ryan out of the bar onto the patio and threw the first punch.
“I hope it was worth it,” one of Ryan’s family members muttered angrily to Jarvis as the family left the courtroom.
Callahan said his client will apply for early release from prison when he is eligible in six months.
Oldham said the Ryan family plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit after the first of the year. She said the family was disappointed in Jarvis’ sentence and disagrees with the characterization of what happened as a “bar fight.”
“He was attacked,” Oldham said. “He suffered significant blows to the head. In my world, that doesn’t qualify as a ‘bar fight.’”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .