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Teen sentenced in baseball-bat beating
By Elise Franco
YOUNGSTOWN
Derek Etto, 16, of Austintown, was sentenced Monday in juvenile court to probation in the baseball-bat beating of a 15-year-old classmate.
Etto pleaded Jan. 24 at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center to an amended charge of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
The teen originally was charged with felonious assault Oct. 14, 2010, in the Sept. 27 fight where he hit the 15-year-old victim in the head with a baseball bat outside the Etto family’s South Edgehill Avenue residence.
The victim went to Etto’s home intending to fight him, and he punched Etto in the head before Etto hit him with the bat, according to police reports.
During Etto’s Monday disposition hearing, Magistrate Richard White said he would be placed on probation and continued house arrest and required to pay $100 plus court costs.
Magistrate White said Etto also will be required to undergo a standard mental-health evaluation and anger-management class. Restitution to the victim’s family is pending.
Etto’s father, Charles Etto, 40, was sentenced Feb. 8 to 60 days in jail and five years’ probation for his role in the incident. He pleaded in December to a felony charge of complicity to commit aggravated assault and a probation violation from previous drug-trafficking and child-endangering charges.
The elder Etto was granted a motion for furlough Monday by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court so that he can attend a mandatory medical examination on Thursday by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
Judge Krichbaum stated that Etto is to return to jail immediately after his exam.
Charles Etto originally was charged with felonious assault for handing his son the baseball bat during the fight outside the family’s residence.
Juvenile Prosecutor Anissa Modarelli said Derek Etto’s probation period depends on what his probation officer thinks is appropriate.
“He’ll be on probation until he’s fully compliant with the terms and conditions of his disposition,” she said. “He’s been really compliant so far.”
Etto told the magistrate he was sorry for choosing violence instead of sense.
“I should have just called 911,” he said.
White said he was glad Etto acknowledged his mistake.
“If you and your father go into the house and lock the door, none of us are ever here,” he said. “You should have known better, but certainly your father should have.”
During the hearing, several people were asked to give statements, including the victim’s mother, Tina Goynes.
Goynes said her son suffered a depressed skull fracture, as well as hemorrhaging and bruising on his brain. As a result, the victim is reading at a third-grade level, his mother said.
She said he obtained advanced scores on his Eighth Grade Proficiency test before the attack.
“The impact on our family has been enormous,” she said. “This injury has changed our lives completely, and it’s unknown if [his] cognitive obstacles will ever be overcome.”
Goynes said she and her son both recognize and regret his decision to show up at the Etto’s home the day of the incident.
“I do understand the decision my son made on that day to partake in that incident,” she said.
Etto’s mother, Rebecca Etto, also addressed the court and apologized to Goynes.
“Nothing will be normal again for either one of our families,” she said.