Man gets 3 years in prison in death of girlfriend

YOUNGSTOWN — A 20-year-old Austintown man is going to prison for three years after pleading guilty to reckless homicide in the traffic accident death of his 18-year-old girlfriend, to whom police said he had furnished alcohol in his residence.

Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence Friday on Michael R. Kakavros, of Penny Lane, in the Jan. 20, 2007, death of Tricia Lenio of Canfield.

Lenio died in a one-car crash at 2:41 a.m. on Kirk Road in Austintown, in which the car she was driving at 53 mph hit a curb, a rock and a street sign before sheering off a utility pole. Police said speed and alcohol played roles in the crash.

Kakavros had originally been charged with involuntary manslaughter based on the alcohol police said he had furnished to the underaged Lenio before the crash.

Judge Sweeney also sentenced Kakavros to five years of probation after prison on a charge of illegal possession of a gun after a July 2005 conviction for attempted drug trafficking. Kakavros had pleaded guilty to both the reckless homicide and illegal gun possession charges.

The gun charge pertains to a handgun police said they found under Kakavros’ bed when they searched his residence after the fatal accident.