Plea deal keeps men out of county jail

Charges were reduced, and the two were sentenced to time served.
By SARAH WEBER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Two men arrested last week in the abduction of a 33-year-old Boardman man will not serve more time in the Mahoning County jail for the crime.
Lorin Charlton, 25, and Brandon Thomas, 22, both of Youngstown, signed a plea agreement with the Mahoning County Court prosecutor Tuesday.
Charlton, known as "Squeak," pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint -- reduced from a felony abduction charge, as well as aggravated menacing and possession of drugs. He was sentenced to pay $50 and serve 60 days in the Mahoning County jail for the first count, $50 and 180 days for the second count and $100 for the third count. Both jail sentences were suspended with credit for seven days already served.
Thomas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint -- also reduced from a felony abduction charge, as well as possession of drug paraphernalia and drugs. He was sentenced to 60 days in the Mahoning County jail and a fine of $50 on the first count, 30 days and $50 on the second count, and $100 on the third count. Both jail sentences were suspended with credit for five days already served.
Both men were also sentenced to 12 months of reporting probation and were ordered not to have any contact with the victim.
Crime
Charlton and Thomas were arrested in the St. Elizabeth Boardman Campus parking lot July 18 after the man they had been holding captive since July 16 called police from inside the hospital, a police report showed. The victim told the men he needed to go into the hospital to get his house keys from his girlfriend so they could go to his house and get the $1,250 he owes them, according to the police report.