YOUNGSTOWN Jurors hear opening statements in assault trial

Jurors were also taken to the crime scene Friday.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Prosecutors say Jacob DiCarlo not only robbed and stabbed a woman last summer, but bragged about it and kept newspaper articles about the attack.
But DiCarlo's lawyer says authorities have the wrong man because DiCarlo was not there that night.
DiCarlo, 22, of Ayrshire Drive, and Michael Kapsouris, 25, of South Raccoon Road, are on trial in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, facing charges of felonious assault and aggravated robbery.
Jurors were taken Friday to look at the scene of the crime, after which they heard opening statements from the lawyers.
Allegations
Authorities say Debra Mitchell of Elbertus Avenue went to Key Bank on South Raccoon Road around 3 p.m. July 30, 2001, to deposit money for her employer.
Mitchell, who was 39 at the time, had the money in bags, which she carried in a cardboard box.
When she got out of her car, one of the suspects got out of a car next to hers and grabbed the box, while the other suspect stayed in the car.
Mitchell would not let go of the box, so the suspect pulled out a switchblade knife and slashed her in the stomach, police said.
The man grabbed the box and got back into the waiting car and fled. Mitchell got into her own car and chased her assailants a short distance before stopping when she realized she had been cut.
Leads
Assistant Prosecutor Robert Andrews said police had no leads in the case until a suspect in an unrelated crime told them some six months later that DiCarlo had talked to him about committing the crime, and that Kapsouris helped him.
A newspaper article about the incident was later found by police in DiCarlo's room at his home, Andrews said.
"He talks about it, he brags about it and he keeps the articles about the crime he commits," Andrews said.
DiCarlo's lawyer, Douglas B. Taylor, said prosecutors have built their case on the testimony of people who will get breaks in their own criminal cases in exchange for cooperating with police.
"They have good reason to lie," Taylor said, noting that the victim was not able to identify her assailants.
Atty. Mark Lavelle, representing Kapsouris, also said the case against his client is flimsy.
"There is no connection between these events and Michael Kapsouris," Lavelle said. "The police are trying to put a square peg in a round hole, and it won't fit."
The trial will resume Tuesday in the courtroom of Judge Robert Lisotto. The courthouse is closed Monday for Veterans Day.
bjackson@vindy.com