MAHONING COUNTY Two men sentenced in slashing

A jury convicted both men of aggravated robbery and felonious assault.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two Austintown men, convicted in the robbing and slashing of a city woman last summer, were sentenced Monday to 13 years apiece in prison.
The sentences were handed down by Judge Robert Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to Jacob DiCarlo, 22, of Ayrshire Drive, and Michael Kapsouris, 25, of South Raccoon Road. A jury convicted them of aggravated robbery and felonious assault Nov. 15.
They could have gotten up to 18 years apiece.
About the case
Authorities said the victim was making a deposit for her employer at Key Bank on South Raccoon Road in July 2001 when Kapsouris got out of a car and tried to take the money from her.
When the woman resisted, Kapsouris took out a switchblade knife and slashed her across the abdomen. He got into a waiting car, with DiCarlo behind the wheel, and fled with about $6,000.
DiCarlo insisted at sentencing that he is innocent and refused to apologize to the victim.
Kapsouris did not speak during the sentencing, but his attorney, Mark Lavelle, said he likewise maintains his innocence.
DiCarlo was also sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty Monday to an unrelated charge of attempted burglary. Assistant Prosecutor Robert Andrews said DiCarlo tried to break into a woman's house in Austintown Township in July 2001.
Judge Lisotto gave DiCarlo credit for 236 days he's already spent in the county jail.
Charges of intimidating a witness and felonious assault are also pending against DiCarlo in common pleas court. Authorities say he punched 42-year-old Daniel Farah while both were being held in the county jail.
The attack happened during DiCarlo and Kapsouris' trial, during which Farah testified for prosecutors. Farah is serving a four-year prison sentence for unrelated theft charges and was being kept in the jail until his court appearance.
bjackson@vindy.com