Youngstown man gets 5 years

YOUNGSTOWN -- A Boston Avenue man will spend five years in prison on charges of aggravated burglary and a firearms specification.
Daryl Hall, 19, pleaded guilty Aug. 9. When he appeared Monday for sentencing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, however, he told Judge R. Scott Krichbaum he was innocent.
Judge Krichbaum said that if Hall claimed to be innocent, the case would go to a trial by jury. Prosecutors' recommended sentence with the plea agreement was four years for the aggravated burglary and one additional year for the gun charge.
Judge Krichbaum told Hall that if a jury found him guilty, his sentence could be as much as 10 years for the aggravated burglary -- a first-degree felony -- and three more years for the gun charge. Hall then said he would stick with the guilty plea.
Judge Krichbaum read a description of the March 9 crime that said in part that Hall rushed in and demanded money from the victim's government checks, and held a gun to the victim's head.
"You know this is big time, not teenage stuff," Judge Krichbaum told Hall. "Breaking into someone's house and threatening them with a gun is very serious -- about the worst thing you can do. The only worse thing is to kill someone."
Judge Krichbaum agreed to the prosecutors' recommendation for sentencing. Hall's sentence also includes five years' probation. He received credit for 30 days served in jail.