Dec. 11--A South Side man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 28 years for his role in the burning death of a crack-house doorman in 2005.
Shane D. Albert, 41, was convicted of murder, aggravated arson and kidnapping by a Franklin County jury in October.
Jurors found that he doused 48-year-old Charles "Frank" Calloway with gasoline at 274 S. Dakota Ave. in Franklinton before a second man dropped a lighted piece of paper on the victim on Oct. 16, 2005.
Common Pleas Judge Julie M. Lynch imposed the mandatory sentence of 15 years to life for murder and three years because a gun was used in the crime. She added 10 years to the sentence for the aggravated arson and kidnapping convictions.
"In the drug business, people get killed all the time," Lynch told Albert. "However, most people aren't tortured, aren't burned alive ... To burn people alive is just barbaric, and it's one step above an animal."
Assistant Prosecutor James Lowe said the crime was committed because Calloway's attackers thought he had information about a shooting at the crack house two days earlier.
"The facts of the case are horrifying," he said, asking the judge for the maximum sentence of 38 years to life.
Albert, whose last known address was on Reeb Avenue, declined to make a statement during the hearing.
Defense attorney Blaise Baker said he and his client respect the jury's verdict but don't agree with it.
Investigators initially suspected that Calloway had fallen asleep while smoking on a couch and ruled the death an accident. But in 2009, a tip prompted Columbus homicide detectives to revisit the case.
During the next two years, they spoke to witnesses who confided that Calloway's death had been a deliberate act by Albert and Ullman "Julius" Taylor.
Taylor, 35, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, aggravated arson and kidnapping in August 2012. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a deal that hinged in part on him testifying against Albert.
Taylor testified that he lighted a piece of paper and dropped it onto Calloway but said Albert had poured gasoline on the victim.
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