Inmate gets more prison time after felonious assault

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

YOUNGSTOWN — An inmate at the Ohio State Penitentiary here has been sentenced to an additional eight years in prison after an altercation that locked the prison down for hours and placed correctional officers in danger.

Steven W. Culp Jr., 31, appeared Tuesday for sentencing before Judge Lou D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Culp had pleaded guilty to possession of a deadly weapon under detention and three counts of felonious assault.

Martin P. Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor, said Culp got into an argument with another inmate at the facility while in the shower. Culp, Desmond said, took a weapon made from a shaved piece of glass and tried to attack the man, causing the East Side prison to be placed on lockdown status.

“Mr. Culp basically held the prison prisoner for three hours as various officers tried to negotiate with him. After three hours, riot teams came in, and Mr. Culp still, in fact, did not give up but charged the officers,” Desmond told the judge.

Culp was ultimately shot with a nondeadly weapon, disarmed and placed in a cage to calm down. He was charged a short time later.

Desmond also read a list of charges in Culp’s history, including two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of kidnapping and the stabbing of another inmate.

Atty. James Wise, representing Culp, told the court his client recognizes his actions were wrong. He said Culp now carries a small scar on his head and a larger scar on his leg as a permanent reminder of the incident.

Wise said his client has apologized to the prison officials involved in the incident.

Culp, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with a shaved head that exposed a large tattoo on the back of his head, told the court that he did not intend to hurt anyone. He called the entire incident a bad situation.

Wise asked the judge to impose a five-year sentence for the crimes. Desmond asked the court to impose a 10-year sentence for the crimes.

Judge D’Apolito commented on the serious nature of the crimes before passing sentence on Culp.

“I can understand you are in a dangerous situation and must protect yourself against other inmates. I get that. But there was a time for you to say this is crazy and let [prison officials] take charge. You did not do that. This is something I can’t take lightly,” Judge D’Apolito said. “These guards have a tough job, and you placed them in a position to fear for their lives unjustifiably.”

Culp was sentenced to eight years on each of the counts against him to run concurrently — but consecutive to his current prison term. The earliest date for Culp’s release will be 2025. He could have faced up to 48 years in prison on the new charges and fines up to $75,000.

jgoodwin@vindy.com