Man gets 15 years for beating grandmother

ELYRIA — An Elyria man who beat his elderly grandmother during a robbery last year was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.

Shawn Bowens, 26, told county Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery that he was truly sorry for the grief he had caused his family and the pain he had inflicted upon his grandmother, 75-year-old Velma Bowens.

JASON MILLER / CHRONICLE

Aric Bowens (center) reads a statement from his family during the sentencing for his cousin Shawn Bowens (right) who was convicted of attempted murder, felonious assault and aggravated burglary against their grandmother, Velma Bowens.

Family members found Velma Bowens beaten and bloodied in the bedroom of her West River Road home in Elyria in June 2006. Her injuries were severe enough that she requiredfacial reconstruction surgery.

Aric Bowens, a cousin of Shawn Bowens and another grandson of the victim, spoke on behalf of his grandmother, who was hospitalized Monday. He told Rothgery that his grandmother and the rest of his family wanted Shawn Bowens to receive the maximum sentence of 76 years in prison.

“(Velma Bowens) was left for dead in her bedroom,” Aric Bowens said. “She would’ve given him money for anything except money for drugs. Now she uses a walker and her hearing, sight and memory have all been affected.”

Shawn Bowens initially told police that he was at a neighbor’s house when his grandmother was attacked, and family members said after the sentencing that although he pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder, felonious assault and aggravated burglary on Oct. 17,