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2 Canton burglars sentenced to 10 years
By Denise Dick
By DENISE DICK
YOUNGSTOWN
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Shane Mazon
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Ronald Harshman
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Amanda Wilhite
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Sara Alton
Two Stark County residents face 10 years in prison, and two others were sentenced to two years in prison for their respective participation in a string of burglaries in western Mahoning County.
Ronald Hashman, 36, of Canton, pleaded guilty Monday and was convicted in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court of 12 burglary counts.
The crimes occurred last year in western Mahoning County.
Shane Mazon, 38, also of Canton, pleaded guilty to nine counts, and the other three counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
J. Michael Thompson, an assistant county prosecutor, recommended a 10-year sentence for each man. They will be sentenced later this week.
Hashman already is serving a two-year sentence for a burglary conviction out of Stark County.
Sentencing guidelines allow the defendants to be sentenced to probation for the offenses.
“That means I could give you probation. It doesn’t mean I will,” said Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. “In fact, I won’t. It’s quite a stretch for me to accept this plea agreement, to be honest with you.”
He said he would honor the agreement, however.
Sara Alton, 34, and Amanda Wilhite, 26, both of Massillon, pleaded guilty and were convicted on two burglary counts each. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Thompson said that both women had agreed to testify against the men in the case if their trials had gone forward.
“Both would have been essential to the prosecution of this case,” he said.
Alton’s attorney, James Vivo, said his client has no prior criminal record.
“She got caught up in a bad situation, and it went downhill really fast,” Vivo said.
Alton, a mother of three, said drugs were behind her participation in the crimes.
“I offer no excuses for breaking the law,” she said.
Wilhite’s lawyer, Thaddeus Wexler, said drugs were behind her involvement also, adding that Wilhite suffers from bipolar disorder.
Wilhite told the judge that she feels bad about the burglaries and if she could change what had happened, she would.
“I am very remorseful,” Wilhite said.
Judge Krichbaum was unmoved.
“That’s nice. She’ll get over it, but I don’t think [the victims] will,” he said.
In following the recommendation of the prosecutor’s office, the judge sentenced each woman to two years in prison.