MAHONING COUNTY Elderly victim of beating files a lawsuit

The elderly man wants one of the teens' trust fund to be frozen until the suit is settled.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An 85-year-old Miller Street man who was severely beaten in his home two months ago is suing the young men he says attacked him.
William John Sovak filed the suit Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against James E. Goins Jr. of East Indianola Avenue and Chad Barnette, also of East Indianola. Goins and Barnette are both 16.
Also included: Also named as defendants are Sheila Spivey, Goins' mother, and Youlanda Barnette, Barnette's mom, and Butler Wick Trust Co., which holds a trust account for Goins.
The trust fund, worth about $200,000, was established in Texas in 1991 and represents a portion of the proceeds of a wrongful death claim for Goins' father, court records show. It is a structured settlement, which means more money will be paid into it over time to settle the claim.
Goins' lawyer, Damian Billak, has filed a request to be paid $10,000 from proceeds of the fund.
Sovak is asking for more than $1 million each from Goins and Barnette, and $10,000 each from their mothers. He also asks that Butler Wick be made to pay any judgment against Goins out of the trust account before making any other disbursements.
He asks that the trust account be frozen until after the suit is settled.
Sovak was attacked and beaten in January, suffering broken ribs, multiple skull fractures and cuts, the suit says.
Facing charges: Goins, Barnette and a third teen, Lamont Belcher, 16, of Willis Avenue, face felony charges of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping, felonious assault and receiving stolen property. They are awaiting trial as adults in common pleas court. Belcher is not named in the civil suit.
The charges stem from the attack against Sovak and from the beating and robbery of Elizabeth Luchisan, 59, and her 63-year-old husband, Louis, of Marmion Avenue.