YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Friday, April 19, 2024) – The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office successfully opposed the parole of Derek Carter during a Full Board Hearing held before the Ohio Parole Board on April 17, 2024. Derek Carter is serving an 18-years-to-life sentence for the October 22, 1993 murder of Nick Carter.
Mahoning County Criminal Chief Ralph Rivera appeared before the Parole Board in Columbus and presented the State’s arguments in support of denying Derek Carter’s release. The Board also heard from several members of Nick Carter’s family, which included his mother, sister, and brother.
At approximately 7:43 p.m. on October 22, 1993, two groups formed in the McDonald’s parking lot across the street from Youngtown State University’s Stambaugh Stadium. The groups gathered after the East High School versus Wilson High School football game. The south side group consisted of Defendant Derek Carter and several of his friends, while the east side consisted of the decedent Nick Carter, a second shooting victim, and several of their friends.
During the altercation, Defendant Derek Carter left the McDonald’s parking lot and retrieved a .22 caliber semiautomatic firearm from his friend’s vehicle that was parked in the stadium parking lot. Defendant Derek Carter returned to the area where the argument was occurring between the two groups. Defendant Carter then fired three shots into the crowd; one shot struck 16-year-old Nick Carter in the chest. Nick Carter died later that night. Another shot struck a second victim; he was seriously injured but survived after spending a week in the hospital.
Defendant Derek Carter was quickly apprehended at the scene by a uniformed security guard and a Youngstown State University police officer. Defendant Carter later admitted to detectives that he fired three shots into the crowd that night. Defendant Carter was convicted by a jury of Murder and the accompanying Firearm Specification.
Criminal Chief Rivera argued that Derek Carter’s actions of leaving the altercation to retrieve a firearm from a friend’s vehicle and then to return and shoot into the crowd demonstrated that the aggravating facts and circumstances of the offense significantly outweighed Derek Carter’s rehabilitative efforts. The Parole Board agreed and voted 5 to 4, favoring the denial of Derek Carter’s parole. The Parole Board cited those aggravating facts and circumstances that surrounded Nick Carter’s murder, as well as the community support that was outlined by the family members that spoke of his behalf, in their reasoning for denying Derek Carter’s parole.