MAHONING COUNTY Thief gets out early on vow to do right

The Sebring man intends to attend a Bible college near Salem.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- As an aspiring minister, Richard A. Beach could be expected to seek redemption from God. As a felon, he had to ask a judge.
The 25-year-old Sebring man got a second chance Tuesday when Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court granted his request for early release from prison.
"I know I did wrong," Beach said. "I just want to prove to the community that I'll do better."
Beach pleaded guilty in September 2002 to charges of burglary and theft, and was sentenced in November 2002 to two years in prison. Authorities said he broke into several Sebring-area homes between December 2000 and July 2001, stealing firearms, jewelry and electronic equipment.
Judge Krichbaum ruled Tuesday that Beach has been locked up long enough, and placed him on probation for three years. Beach will spend the first four to six months of his probation in a residential treatment program at Community Corrections Association on Market Street.
Internet church link
Defense attorney Robert J. Rohrbaugh II said Beach has a certificate deeming him a "prayer partner" in the Progressive Universal Life Church and has clergy credentials, both of which he obtained over the Internet. He also has a parking pass that says he is a minister deserving of parking privileges at hospitals.
Once Beach gets out of CCA, he intends to pursue a degree at a Bible college near Salem, Rohrbaugh said.
The judge cautioned Beach to walk the straight and narrow during his probation. If Beach violates terms of his probation, he could be sent back to the penitentiary to serve the balance of his sentence.
"I'm concerned about someone who breaks into somebody else's home. There is evil in that," Judge Krichbaum said.
At his sentencing hearing, Rohrbaugh described Beach as "an unsophisticated rural American." Spending 11 months in prison has changed that, though, Rohrbaugh said Tuesday.
"Now he knows what can happen if you don't follow the laws and rules," Rohrbaugh said.
Rohrbaugh had asked the Ohio 7th District Court of Appeals to overturn the sentence, arguing it was too harsh. After Tuesday's hearing, Rohrbaugh said he has dismissed the appeal.
bjackson@vindy.com