Suspect in threat released on bond

The defendant said he will
live with his sister on
Sheridan Road.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — After spending nearly five months in Mahoning County Jail after a death threat against Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, a 19-year-old city man was released on a personal recognizance bond Friday.

Visiting Judge Thomas P. Curran of Cuyahoga County set the bond, which requires only a signature, not payment, during a hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Also during the hearing, Judge Curran received a psychiatric evaluation report saying that Richard Clark Jr. was competent to stand trial.

Clark was charged April 13 with retaliation, a third-degree felony, after two deputy sheriffs at the courthouse alleged that he told them he was going to kill Judge Krichbaum.

The threat came after Clark’s aunt, Dolores Oslavic, was detained by deputies for her behavior that day. Olslavic said Friday that Clark became upset because of her being handcuffed and placed in leg shackles for something she did in the courthouse.

She was leaving Judge Krichbaum’s courtroom after Clark’s uncle had been resentenced, and she pushed open a door outside the courtroom hard enough that it slammed against the wall beside it. That’s what caused deputies to put her in handcuffs, she said.

Olslavic said she later apologized to Judge Krichbaum and charges against her were dropped.

Clark, however, was unable to post the $250,000 bond that was set for him.

Prosecutor’s office

Steven Shandor, an assistant county prosecutor, said he had talked with the deputies who heard the threat, a detective with the sheriff’s department and with Judge Krichbaum, and it appears that Clark made the comments “out of frustration and anger.”

Shandor said Judge Krichbaum never felt threatened physically by Clark.

“But our office feels that such a threat as this must be taken seriously,” Shandor said.

“Especially threats in court against the court or court staff,” Judge Curran added.

When asked to speak, Clark, dressed in his jail uniform, said he would get a job when he leaves the Mahoning County Jail and live with his sister on Sheridan Road in Youngstown. He later said, “I’ve lost all my anger here in jail. I feel like I’m one with the Lord.”

Clark’s attorney, Kirk A. Migdal of Akron, suggested that a program at Turning Point Counseling Services be provided to Clark until the date of his next hearing, 10:30 a.m. Oct. 26.

Shandor said, however, that he wasn’t sure that Clark qualified for such a program, though he could be evaluated.

Shandor said he expects Clark to enter into a plea agreement at his next hearing. He could receive a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison, Shandor said.

runyan@vindy.com