Mahoning grand jury indicts Lexter Williams on escape charges

YOUNGSTOWN — The man who was given a three-week reprieve from jail before starting his pending prison sentence was indicted today by a Mahoning County grand on an escape charge after failing to show up for his sentencing hearing.

Lexter C. Williams Jr., 30, with a last known address of Kendis Circle, had pleaded guilty in November to four counts of kidnapping, three counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of gross sexual imposition with gun specifications, and being a felon in illegal possession of a weapon.

Mahoning County prosecutors and Atty. Thomas Zena, representing Williams, agreed to 10-year concurrent sentences on all the charges as well as a three-year term for the gun charge, meaning Williams would spend 13 years behind bars.

Williams had been in the county jail since his arrest in January 2009, but, as stipulated in his plea agreement, a judge gave him three weeks at home on electronically monitored house arrest before he was to begin his prison sentence.

Williams, however, failed to report daily to the Community Corrections Association on Market Street as ordered, and he cannot be located by the electronic monitoring device that was attached to his body, meaning the plea deal is void and he could receive 86 years in prison.

He faces additional prison time if convicted on the escape charge, which the grand jury indicted him on today.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com