Mahoning County prosecutors oppose early release of felon

YOUNGSTOWN — The prosecution opposes early release of a man who was sentenced to four years in prison for fracturing a woman’s eye socket when he pistol-whipped her in front of her 8-year-old daughter.

Rebecca L. Doherty, chief of the criminal division of the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office, today filed a notice of opposition to Gerald Hardaway’s motion for early release from the Richland Correctional Institution, saying the victim is “adamantly opposed’’ to his release.

Doherty said the victim also suffered facial bruising and a mouth injury in the Aug. 26, 2011, assault, in which she said the victim’s injuries “were severe and unprovoked.”

Hardaway, who fired two shots at the woman as she left the scene, “is a danger to the community” and should fully complete his prison term, Doherty wrote.

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