MAHONING COUNTY Doing time for brother's crime leaves area man with questions

Marco Stevens' brother also served 10 days in jail for driving the car.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Marco Stevens is still haunted by the three days he spent in Mahoning County Jail last year for a crime he didn't commit.
"I can't get over it," said Stevens, 25, of Greenwood Street.
Neither can Mahoning County Court officials.
Both Stevens and his girlfriend, Amanda Sam, 25, stressed that court officials have been unwilling to expunge the record of Stevens' arrest.
"Why wouldn't the prosecutor say, 'OK, I made a mistake?'" Sam said.
What records show
Court records show that both Stevens and his brother, Laval, of Lorain, were charged with committing the same crime. Laval told state troopers he was Marco when he was arrested on a drunken-driving charge in April 2001 on Mahoning Avenue in Austintown.
Marco said a state trooper told him that the charges against him would be dropped and refiled against Laval. In October 2001, however, Marco was asked by Judge David D'Apolito to enter a plea in Mahoning County Court in Austintown to his brother's crime.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve three days in jail and ordered to pay a $350 fine. His license also was suspended for three months.
Laval later pleaded guilty to being the driver of the car and served 10 days in jail.
Ken Cardinal, the county prosecutor in Austintown, said Marco hasn't filed an official request to have the record expunged. He said if the request is filed, a hearing could be held to determine if the record could be expunged.
Cardinal suggested that Marco hire an attorney. Marco said he has hired Youngstown attorney Joseph Rafidi to handle his case. Rafidi could not be reached to comment.
Sam, however, said she didn't think Marco should have to pay an attorney to have the record expunged. Both she and Marco also said they had doubts the courts would expunge the record.
Cardinal added that he is skeptical about Marco's claims.
"It's just really hard to believe that anybody in their right mind would plead guilty to a drunk-driving charge when they're not the driver," he said. "This is totally mind-boggling to me."
Unsure of options
Marco said he didn't have an attorney when he was arraigned and he was confused about his options. During an arraignment in county court, the judge describes the sentences the defendant faces. He also explains that the defendant can have an attorney appointed by the court.
There are no public defenders, and an attorney is present at the arraignment only if he or she has been hired by the defendant.
Cardinal said the sentence for a first-offense, drunken-driving charge can include between three days and six months in jail. Marco said he thought he would be sentenced to six months in jail if he didn't enter a plea.
Marco pleaded guilty to drunken driving and served three days in jail. A second drunken-driving charge and a speeding charge were dropped.
A week after Marco was sentenced, Laval was arrested on a warrant for not showing up in county court to be arraigned on the drunken-driving, speeding, driving under suspension and falsification charges.
He pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was fined $250 and ordered to serve 10 days in jail. His license also was suspended for one year. The other charges were dropped.
hill@vindy.com