Woman gets six months in assault

YOUNGSTOWN -- An East Side woman has been sentenced to six months in the Mahoning County jail for assaulting her daughter-in-law last summer.
A jury returned a guilty verdict late Tuesday afternoon against Donna Butler, 45, of Byron Street on an assault charge. The jurors found her innocent of the more serious charge of felonious assault, which carries a maximum penalty of eight years in prison. She was indicted on that charge last year.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, in his instructions to the jurors, said assault was a lesser-included offense and they could find her guilty of that charge if they believed the evidence did not show Butler committed the more-serious charge.
Simple assault is a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.
Testimony showed that Butler assaulted her daughter-in-law June 30, 2004. Dawn Krueger, an assistant county prosecutor, said Butler used an aluminum baseball bat in the attack and then punched the victim several times in the face.
Butler's defense lawyer, Robert Rohrbaugh, said he would file an appeal and for a stay of execution of sentence.
Butler will receive credit for the 86 days she was in jail awaiting trial.