MAHONING COUNTY Woman rejects plea deal in 2000 murder case

Three others have already been convicted or pleaded guilty in the case.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Moments after a hearing in which Bobbie Beal turned down a possible 10-year prison sentence for her reported role in a long-standing murder case, she turned to her family in the back of the courtroom and started sobbing.
"She can cry in Marysville," Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Jay Macejko said as he walked from the courtroom. He was referring to the state's prison for women.
Beal, 26, of Hilton Avenue, is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated arson and aggravated robbery. If she is convicted of all counts and gets maximum consecutive sentences, Beal faces 66 years to life in prison.
She was set to plead guilty Wednesday in common pleas court, but changed her mind. The case will be set for trial.
About the case
Prosecutors say Beal was one of four people who lured 24-year-old Steven Skinner Jr. of Warren to a house on Youngstown's South Side in May 2000. Once Skinner arrived, he was beaten, robbed and forced to climb into the trunk of his own car.
The car was driven to a remote location on the city's East Side, where it was doused with gasoline and set on fire with Skinner still locked inside.
As part of a plea agreement, Macejko had agreed to reduce the aggravated murder charge to involuntary manslaughter, with the other charges remaining the same. Had Beal pleaded guilty, Macejko was going to recommend that Judge James C. Evans impose a 10-year prison sentence.
Defense attorney James Gentile said Beal agreed to the deal last week, but had changed her mind when she arrived in court.
He asked Judge Evans to remove him from the case and appoint another lawyer to defend Beal at taxpayers' expense.
"I believe that what is being offered here is in her best interest," Gentile said. "But there is some disagreement among us on that."
Why she rejected plea
Beal said she turned down the plea and wants a new lawyer because she doesn't believe she has been given all the pretrial discovery material she should have received. Specifically, Gentile said she wants prosecutors to provide her with a transcript of a co-defendant's trial.
But Macejko said the state is not required to provide that for her and that she can get it on her own, at her own expense.
Judge Evans said he would wait until today to rule on Gentile's request to step aside from the case in the event Beal changes her mind again and decides to accept the 10-year offer.
Beal's change of heart angered Macejko, who said it was her last chance to avoid a trial and a considerably higher prison sentence.
"There will be no further [plea] offers after today," Macejko said. "We'll go to trial, we will present the same evidence we presented against Kateo Patterson, and I'm confident we will get the same result."
Patterson, 22, of Arch Street, was one of the others charged in the case. A jury convicted him last year of charges identical to Beal's and he was sentenced to 66 years to life in prison.
The other defendants, Frank Sinkovich, 25, and Clemons Higgins, 19, both of Youngstown, pleaded guilty to reduced charges and were each given a 23-year prison sentence.
bjackson@vindy.com