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Warren man gets 101‚Ñ2-year term
The jury rendered a mixed verdict after deliberating seven hours.
YOUNGSTOWN — A Warren man has been sentenced to 101‚Ñ2 years in prison after a jury convicted him of kidnapping his wife from a house in Youngstown, improper handling of a gun in a motor vehicle and illegal gun possession.
John H. Canty, 50, of Folsom Avenue, drew the sentence Friday from Judge Timothy E. Franken of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Franken imposed the sentence the day after a six-man, six-woman jury convicted Canty of the charges in seven hours of deliberations.
The sentence consisted of four years for the kidnapping, five years for the illegal gun possession and 18 months for the improper handling of a gun in a motor vehicle, all to be served consecutively. The judge also fined Canty $12,500.
The jury acquitted Canty of aggravated burglary, felonious assault and domestic violence.
Although the prosecution said Canty pistol-whipped his wife, Chalise, in the June 8, 2007, kidnapping, the jury acquitted Canty of the gun specification attached to the kidnapping charge.
“He was going to take her home, but he didn’t make it that far because he was arrested,” Canty’s lawyer, Mark Lavelle, said.
Shortly after Canty kidnapped his wife, Youngstown police found a loaded gun in the car Canty and his wife occupied when they stopped it. Canty was barred from having a gun because of his 2002 conviction for cocaine abuse.
Citing Canty’s lengthy criminal record, Kasey C. Shidel, assistant county prosecutor, asked Judge Franken to impose maximum consecutive prison sentences totaling 161‚Ñ2 years.
“This defendant has a history of guns, drugs and violence. This is the type of person that needs to be removed from the streets of our communities,” Shidel told the judge.
Lavelle unsuccessfully urged the judge to dismiss the three counts Canty was convicted of, saying the jury “lost its way” and produced an inconsistent verdict.
“It’s now up to the court to correct a potential injustice,” Lavelle said, telling the judge that Canty was trying to rescue his wife from a crack house.
“I’m sorry for what happened. I just love my wife,” Canty told the judge.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Franken cited Canty’s history of criminal convictions, probation violations and prior time in prison and said Canty lacks genuine remorse and is likely to offend again.
Canty will be on parole for five years after he leaves prison.
Lavelle said an appeal will be filed, partly on the basis that Canty’s speedy-trial rights were violated.
milliken@vindy.com