YOUNGSTOWN Man decides not to withdraw plea

Officials said it was a mutual misunderstanding, not a lie to entice a guilty plea.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A second opinion put David Kopnitsky's suspicions to rest. Now he's ready to go to prison.
Kopnitsky, 23, of North Garland Avenue, pleaded guilty Nov. 25 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to assaulting his former live-in partner, Fernando Pacheco, at their home in August.
Police found Pacheco, then 43, bleeding in bed. There was no sign of forced entry and a metal jewelry box is believed to have been used in the assault.
Pacheco was critically injured and was hospitalized in a coma for weeks after the assault. Kopnitsky agreed to plead guilty to felonious assault and accept a four-year prison sentence to avoid a potential murder charge if Pacheco did not survive.
After his plea and sentencing, Kopnitsky read an article in The Vindicator indicating that Pacheco had recovered and was living in Kansas. That caused him to think that his lawyer, Ronald Yarwood, misled him.
He sent a letter to Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, asking to recant his plea and take the case to trial.
Changed his mind
But at a hearing Wednesday, Kopnitsky said he's now satisfied that everything was on the up-and-up, and said he no longer wished to take back the plea. His original plea and sentence will stand.
"It was just a misunderstanding that needed to be clarified," said Atty. Gary Van Brocklin, who was appointed Monday to represent Kopnitsky after Yarwood withdrew from the case. "It was a mutual mistake of fact, not a deliberate misrepresentation."
When the plea agreement was negotiated in November, everyone involved believed that Pacheco was still in a coma, said Jay Macejko, assistant prosecutor.
It was only after the plea and sentencing, when Pacheco's relatives were contacted, that authorities learned Pacheco was no longer hospitalized and had moved to another state. He is now living with relatives in California.
No memory of assault
Macejko said Pacheco suffered brain damage from the assault and has no memory of the attack.
Van Brocklin said he spent a full day researching the matter, realized what had happened, and explained it to Kopnitsky.
"Given the time to look over the facts, it's clear to me that I was not misled," Kopnitsky said.
He said Yarwood had been meticulous in preparing his defense, so he was surprised that the lawyer was not aware of Pacheco's status. He feared that if Yarwood misled him about Pacheco's condition, he could have misled him about other things.
"Mr. Yarwood is very good at what he does," Judge Krichbaum said. "He has demonstrated a zeal to represent criminal defendants. I certainly don't believe he would ever do anything to misrepresent a client."
bjackson@vindy.com