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3 men take plea deal in assaults
YOUNGSTOWN — Three men facing felony charges in relation to beating a father and his daughter during a South Side brawl earlier this year have accepted a deal that will reduce the time they may spend in prison.
William Santiago, 18, of Blackburn Street, Campbell, Brad Clinton, 19, of Matta Avenue. and Randy Flores, 21, of South Garland Avenue, each have pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault. The men face 18 months in prison on each charge.
Flores also pleaded guilty to one count of illegal conveyance of a weapon onto detention facility grounds. He is facing five years in prison for that charge.
The plea agreement was reached after two days of jury selection for their trial. A jury had been picked by Tuesday afternoon. The agreement was reached Wednesday morning.
The three men initially were charged with two counts of felonious assault. If convicted, each man would have faced a maximum of 16 years in prison.
Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court will sentence the men Jan. 8. Prosecutors have not made a sentencing recommendation for the trio.
According to police, officers were called to East Glenaven Avenue for a fight in early August and found a 59-year-old Glenaven man and his 27-year-old daughter, of the same Glenaven address, beaten and bruised.
Police saw a Ford Explorer and spectators screaming for police to stop it because it contained the men responsible for the beating. There were six people in the SUV.
Reports say officers stopped the SUV a short distance away.
Jennifer McLaughlin, assistant county prosecutor, told the judge that the female victim in the beating was not injured as badly as the male, thus an aggravated assault charge would be warranted. There also was discussion between the prosecution and defense concerning an active warrant for the woman out of Portage County.
McLaughlin also told the court the male victim in the beating did not want to take the stand and be questioned about various aspects of his past. Prosecutors had filed a motion to exclude any questions about a prior felony conviction for gross sexual imposition the man had more 10 years ago. The judge had not ruled on that motion before the plea agreement had been reached.
jgoodwin@vindy.com