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Teen enters plea in beating case
By Elise Franco
YOUNGSTOWN
The teen accused of beating a classmate with a baseball bat entered a plea of admission in juvenile court.
Derek Etto, 16, of Austintown, pleaded Monday at the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center to an amended charge of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
A third-degree felony brings with it the possibility that Etto could spend anywhere from six months up to his 21st birthday in juvenile detention. He also faces a fine of up to $750, said Magistrate Richard White, who presided over the hearing.
The teen will remain on an electronically monitored house arrest until his disposition, or sentencing hearing, at 2 p.m. Feb. 14.
Etto originally was charged with felonious assault Oct. 14 in the Sept. 27 fight where the 15-year-old victim was hit with a baseball bat outside the Etto family’s South Edgehill Avenue residence.
His father, Charles Etto, 40, of Austintown, pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Dec. 1 to complicity to aggravated assault. Charles Etto originally was charged with felonious assault for handing his son the bat used in the attack.
The elder Etto is scheduled for a sentencing hearing at 9 a.m. next Tuesday before Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
Derek Etto, who spent time in juvenile detention immediately after the incident, has been in the custody of his grandfather since his release.
Magistrate White asked the attorneys on both sides if they objected to allowing Etto back in the custody of his parents before his scheduled sentencing date.
Defense attorney Shelli Freeze said returning the teen to his parents would be in his best interest.
“We have a strong interest in having him return home,” she said. “He spent time in detention and on house arrest, and he has a desire to get things back to as much of a normal life as he can.”
Prosecutor Anissa Modarelli said she had no objections.
In addition to his continued house arrest, Etto isn’t allowed to have any contact with the victim or his family.
The victim’s mother, Tina Goynes, also was present at the hearing. She declined to comment on the case but said her son, who suffered severe head trauma in the attack, is doing well.
“He’s making progress. Doctors say the first year after is always the toughest,” she said. “It’s slow but sure.”
Goynes said her son has been back at school taking limited classes.
“He’s taking core classes,” she said. “He actually just picked up his third class [Monday].”