Man takes plea agreement in assault on police officer

YOUNGSTOWN — A 21-year-old Sebring man accepted a plea agreement that could send him to jail for eight years for assaulting a Smith Township police officer last summer.

Brandon K. Sanor of East Ohio Avenue pleaded guilty Tuesday to felonious assault for hitting Smith Township Patrolman Joe Barnhouse with a flashlight.

Sanor was also charged with aggravated robbery for attempting to take the patrolman’s firearm from him. This charged was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Sanor’s indictment said the incidents occurred July 9.

Christina Haselberger, an assistant county prosecutor, said she is recommending eight years in prison for Sanor. The offense calls for a sentence of up to 10 years.

Felonious assault is normally a second-degree felony, but felonious assault on a police officer is a first-degree felony, Hasselberger noted.

Sanor will be sentenced by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 16.