The man convicted of the 1975 murder of an Akron police officer will stay behind bars.

Donald Webb was convicted of murdering officer Gary Yost Sr. (at left; photo Yost family and www.BlockParole.com)  who was found shot to death during a robbery at a trucking company where he was working part-time security.

The Ohio Parole Board and the Central Office Board Review denied Webb's request for parole and announced he will not be eligible for another parole hearing until March 2022.

Donald Webb has been paroled three times since starting his original life sentence.

JoEllen Smith, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, said the decision was based on many factors including Webb's criminal history and petitions signed in opposition of his release.

The family of Yost worked with the online website BlockParole.com to help keep Webb behind bars and to extend the amount of time Webb can file another application for parole.

The Ohio Parole Board extended the length between parole hearings from three to ten years.

Previous Coverage:

• Deadline Near To Help Keep Akron Cop-Killer Behind Bars

• Remembering Dad: Gary Yost  

• Walsh Wants Help Keeping Cop-Killer Behind Bars  

^{AUDIO Deadline Near To Help Keep Akron Cop-Killer Behind Bars}  

A family of a slain Akron police officer is working hard with an online website to keep his killer behind bars. Donald Webb has already been paroled three times since starting his original life sentence, and the deadline is tomorrow for comments on the case to be considered by the Ohio Parole Board.

Bret Vinocur, president of BlockParole.com, calls Webb a "menace to society" and says he's hoping for more signatures to help block the parole.

"He's been given an incredible opportunity because the family was never notified to prove himself as a productive member of society. He's failed every time . It's like playing Russian roulette. At some point, he's going to kill somebody if they keep releasing him," said Vinocur.

Officer Gary Yost, Sr. was found shot to death during a robbery in 1975 while serving as security at Shipper Dispatch, Inc. Several individuals were also involved in the crime. They only served minimal sentences. Webb pled guilty to the murder to avoid the death penalty.

BlockParole.com is an online resource that gives the public an opportunity to help block the parole of dangerous Ohio inmates.

"The public needs to know what's going on. Currently, there is no other organization providing that kind of information to the public."

The family is asking the Ohio Parole Board for an order to keep Webb behind bars and to extend the amount of time Webb can file another application for parole from three to ten years.

An online form to petition the Board can be found on BlockParole.com. Copies of the petition will go to family members of the victim. The deadline for final submissions is Wednesday, February 29. 

Previous Coverage: 

• AUDIO Remembering Dad: Gary Yost  

• Walsh Wants Help Keeping Cop-Killer Behind Bars

Summit County's top prosecutor is looking for help from the public to keep behind bars the man convicted of the 1975 murder of an Akron police officer.

Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said Gary Yost, Sr. (at left; photo Yost family and www.BlockParole.com) was working a second job in August of that year when he heard a noise and investigated while serving as security at Shipper Dispatch, Inc. Testimony from court trials reveal five men were caught stealing tires. When Yost confronted them, they overpowered him, shot him with his service revolver and left Yost to die.

Yost's wife found her husband the next morning when she went to the warehouse after her husband didn't come home. Doctors testified at trial Yost might have survived his gunshot wound to the back if help had been called, and that Yost died after crawling through weeds in a nearby field for help.

“Donald Webb committed a terrible and cowardly act when he participated in the murder of a respected Akron police officer,” said Walsh. “Webb was on parole at the time of this murder and has already been repeatedly paroled for this crime. Each time he was quickly sent back to prison for violating his parole."

Webb was already on parole at the time of the murder; despite being sentenced to life for Yost's murder he was paroled after 17 years, then returned to prison a few years later for a parole violation. Records show he was paroled two other times, despite the murder conviction and his inmate parole rating, and Webb was returned to prison.

Webb was denied parole in 2009, and the Ohio Parole Board extended the length between parole hearings from two years to three. Survivors of Officer Yost have asked the Parole Board to further extend the length of time between hearings for Webb from three to ten years.

Public comments can be filed through the email address below; you can also see more on the case and use a web-based interface to send comments to the Ohio Parole Board at BlockParole.com. The deadline for comments is February 29th.

- - -

(Summit County Prosecutor) Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh is asking the community to help her and the victim’s family oppose the parole of a man who participated in the murder of an off-duty Akron police detective.

In 1975, Donald Webb (at left; photo Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections) and his accomplices broke into Shippers Dispatch, Inc. Akron Police Detective Gary Yost, Sr., who was working an off-duty security job there, saw them with tires and attempted to stop them. However, they overpowered him, taking his gun and shooting him in the back with his own gun.

Detective Yost was left in a field to die. He was found the next day after his wife went to Shippers to see why he had not come home.

“Donald Webb committed a terrible and cowardly act when he participated in the murder of a respected Akron police officer,” said Prosecutor Walsh. “Webb was on parole at the time of this murder and has already been repeatedly paroled for this crime. Each time he was quickly sent back to prison for violating his parole. I am asking the community to join me and Detective Yost’s family in opposing Webb’s release.”

Letters should be sent by February 29 to the Ohio Parole Board, Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, 770 West Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43222 or via email to DRC.Victim.Services@odrc.state.oh.us. Please include Webb’s name and inmate number (A563915) in your letter.