YOUNGSTOWN Inmate says he'd like trial after all

The man changed his mind after reading a story about his case in The Vindicator.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city man, sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to beating his partner with a metal box, now wants to recant the plea and go to trial.
David Kopnitsky said he saw things differently after reading an article in The Vindicator.
Kopnitsky, 23, of North Garland Avenue, pleaded guilty Nov. 25 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to felonious assault and was immediately sentenced by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
In a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office, a charge of attempted murder was dismissed.
Authorities say Kopnitsky assaulted his live-in companion, Fernando Pacheco, who was found bleeding in bed at their North Garland Avenue home in August. A metal jewelry box is believed to have been the weapon.
Pacheco, who was 43 at the time, was critically injured and was hospitalized in a coma for some time after the assault.
Assistant prosecutor Jay Macejko said after the plea and sentencing that Pacheco has since recovered and was living in Kansas.
Reason for action
Kopnitsky said his attorney, Ronald Yarwood, had told him Pacheco was still in a coma and likely to die. He took the plea deal in order to escape a possible murder charge if Pacheco didn't survive, he said.
But after reading in The Vindicator that Pacheco is alive, Kopnitsky sent a letter to the judge asking to withdraw his plea and go to trial. He believes that the victim's testimony could clear him.
However, Pacheco, who now lives in California, suffered severe brain damage and has no memory of the assault, Macejko said.
Judge Krichbaum allowed Yarwood to withdraw from the case and appointed Atty. Gary Van Brocklin to represent Kopnitsky. A hearing will be Wednesday on the motion to withdraw the plea.
bjackson@vindy.com