Assault on officer puts man away for 8 years

An aggravated robbery charge was dropped.

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 just before he imposed the sentence Wednesday 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, the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge said. Judge Krichbaum 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.

Sanor was Tasered by police and required medical attention when he voluntarily surrendered at his grandmother’s Portage County residence the next morning, according to Sanor’s lawyer, Thomas E. Zena. Police said Sanor resisted arrest when he was apprehended in Portage County.

Christina Haselberger, assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, recommended the eight-year prison term. The available prison sentencing range was three to 10 years. Sanor will be on parole for five years after his release.

As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution dropped an aggravated-robbery charge that alleged Sanor tried to take the officer’s gun. Sanor apologized for his actions but denied trying to take Barnhouse’s gun.