MAHONING COUNTY Man sentenced for taking purse

The man says he stole $13, but he was ordered to repay the victim $1,400.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Frankie L. Stargen knew exactly what was in the purse he stole from a Sebring-area woman last year.
"$13.80 and a camera is what it was," Stargen said. "And I was wrong for doing it."
For that, the 51-year-old Alliance man is going to prison for four years.
Prosecutors say Stargen, of East Noble Street, stopped at a home on Stanley Road, Smith Township, in August 2003 and asked to speak to the man who lived there. The man's wife answered the door and when she went to get her husband, Stargen grabbed her purse and ran.
Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said a police report taken immediately after the burglary said the purse contained $13 and a camera valued at $100. But later, the victim said the purse contained an envelope that had $1,300 in it, plus the camera.
Stargen insisted there was only $13 and change in the purse, but Judge Krichbaum ordered him to pay back $1,400, which includes $100 for the camera.
The woman knew Stargen because he used to do yardwork for her and her husband, said Pochiro. The victim was not in court for the sentencing.
Mental-illness defense
Defense attorney Edward Carson said Stargen suffers from mental illness. "I would never offer that as an excuse for what he did, but it certainly is a factor that should be considered" in sentencing, Carson said. He asked Judge Krichbaum to place Stargen on probation and into a counseling program.
"Anybody that would do anything but put you in the penitentiary should have his or her head examined," Judge Krichbaum told Stargen. "I am in perfect mental health."
Stargen had originally pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. A court-ordered mental evaluation deemed him incompetent to stand trial in October 2003. Stargen was committed to a psychiatric hospital in December and was restored to competency earlier this year.
Carson withdrew the insanity plea, and Stargen pleaded guilty to burglary in June.
bjackson@vindy.com