Man who shot, killed UC student as a teen to spend 21 years in prison

Last Updated 4 days by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page

The man who was 17 years old when he shot and killed a UC student took a plea deal on Monday.

Justin Dugan pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault, and in exchange the murder charge he faced was dropped. The judge sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

Although Dugan was 17 years old when he shot and killed 21-year-old Benjamin Addison in March 2024, a judge ruled that he would face trial as an adult.

Addison was killed on Highland Avenue near Dorchester on March 30, 2024, after Cincinnati police said two teenagers tried to steal his car.

On March 30, 2024, Benjamin Addison was found shot outside his vehicle on Highland Avenue, near Dorchester Avenue. His family said he’d decided to go out with some friends the night before.

“I called him at 10 p.m. because usually he comes home from school,” his mother, Yeshi Leggesse told us after his murder. “He said to me, ‘Mom we’re celebrating, do you mind if I stay out?’ And I thought, ‘He’s 21,’ because he keeps telling me, ‘I’m 21.'”

She and Addison’s father agreed it was fine if their son stayed out with his friends. They were out celebrating a friend’s victory following a boxing event.

Hear more from Addison’s family below:

University of Cincinnati remembers student shot, killed nearly one year ago

“I said, ‘Benjamin, if you need a ride home, call me. I can come get you.’ He said, ‘OK dad I love you.’ That’s the last thing he said to his mom and me both ‘OK dad I love you,’ ‘OK mom I love you.’ That’s how he was,” said Joe Addison, reading the last words his son wrote to him in a text message.

His family said Addison parked his car on Highland Street, but backtracked to it when he thought he’d left his headlights on. When he and a friend got back to the car, however, they found two people trying to break into it.

When the two asked the man on the driver’s side to get out, Leggesse said they didn’t see the other person on the passenger side, who then shot her son.

A year after Addison’s death a memorial service was held on UC’s campus to honor him. We asked Addison’s parents the conversations they would’ve had with their son if he were still alive.

“I would’ve said this is your last year, buckle down finish and you got the rest of your life,” said Leggesse.