An Austin man was sentenced Friday in Mower County District Court to more than nine years in prison for his role in two home invasions.
Ojulu Obang Onyongo, 20, had pleaded guilty in June to first-degree assault and first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon, both felonies.
He received a 110-month term for the assault charge, to be served concurrently with a 58-month sentence for the burglary. Onyongo was given credit for 150 days served.
The assault charge stems from an incident March 28 in the 200 block of First Street Southeast in Austin.
Onyongo admitted going to the residence with two other men; a 28-year-old man who lived there was shot in the upper left leg with a 12-gauge shotgun.
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Two young children in the apartment were uninjured.
Onyongo and a second defendant, Kevin Lyke, also 20, were arrested in Austin the next day. The accused shooter, Mongong Deng, was arrested later and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lyke was sentenced in June to six years in prison.
Onyongo's burglary charge results from an incident in February, when residents at a home on Eighth Avenue Southwest said four men entered their home through an unlocked side door, demanding drugs and money.
One of the men carried a long-barreled gun and three wore ski masks, according to the report.
According to a police report, the men went through the residence, eventually leaving with a cellphone and a laptop computer.
Two adults and a 2 1/2-year-old child who live in the home were uninjured. One of the adults ran to another house after the incident to call police.
There were no leads in the case until April 12, when one of the victims told authorities she recognized a suspect from the March 28 home invasion and shooting as one of the men from the February burglary.
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The investigation revealed that a shotgun shell from the February burglary was identical to the shells from the March shooting. Shoe prints taken from one of the shooting suspects — Lyke — also matched at both scenes, according to the court complaint.
Lyke reportedly admitted he and Onyongo had accompanied three other men the night of the February robbery.
One of those men, Ochudho Jamal Ojulu, was also sentenced Friday in the incident. He'd pleaded guilty in July to first-degree burglary of an occupied dwelling.
District Court Judge Donald Rysavy sentenced Ojulu to 20 years of supervised probation, 50 hours of community work service and an $85 fine.
