Sebring man gets prison time for assaulting cop

January 16, 2008 at 5:48p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN — A 21-year-old Sebring man is going to prison for eight years for assaulting a Smith Township police officer last summer.

“You better, by God, not assault a police officer,” said Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court just before he imposed the sentence today on Brandon K. Sanor of East Ohio Avenue.

Sanor pleaded guilty in November to felonious assault for hitting Patrolman Joe Barnhouse with the officer’s flashlight after a foot pursuit that followed a July 9, 2007, traffic stop on U.S. Route 62.

The patrolman suffered chipped teeth and a head wound that needed six surgical staples, Judge Krichbaum said. The judge lamented what he called “a decided disintegration of respect for people in authority” that he said is increasing in some elements of society.

Sanor, who had never gone to prison before, said the officer hit him with the flashlight, and he then grabbed it and hit the officer because he was afraid the officer was going to shoot him.

For the complete story, see Thursday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.