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Man sentenced for murder after plea motion overruled
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Kyle Patrick began sobbing Tuesday the moment Judge John Durkin overruled his motion to withdraw his guilty plea in a 2012 murder.
Patrick, 19, tearfully told Judge Durkin in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that the judge was making a mistake — just before he was sentenced to 16 years to life for the murder of Michael Abighanem, 27, of Thalia Street.
“You’re making a big mistake, your honor,” Patrick said.
Patrick pleaded guilty Feb. 10 to charges of murder, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence just before jury selection was to begin in his trial. He filed a motion about a week later to withdraw his plea, and his attorney, Mark Lavelle, filed a similar motion March 7.
Patrick is one of two men accused of killing Abighanem, who was shot after Abighanem and a friend went to a house on Silliman Street on the West Side about 4:30 p.m. April 27, 2012, so Abighanem could sell a video-game system and a laptop computer.
The other defendant, Reginald Whitfield, 23, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty the day after Patrick did to charges of involuntary manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter and a firearm specification.
During that hearing, Judge Durkin said it was apparent in talking to the lawyers in the case that it was Patrick who lured Abighanem to the home, and it was Patrick who fired the gun used to kill Abighanem.
Lavelle said Judge Durkin should grant the motion to withdraw the plea because the state could not prove it would be prejudiced if the plea was withdrawn.
Prosecutors said they had trouble locating four witnesses for the trial, but Lavelle said Patrick’s family was able to find addresses for three of them and found the fourth person in Florida.
Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa said the state would be prejudiced because all the witnesses are transient and hard to locate. A key witness never showed up for an interview with prosecutors and was not present the day the trial was supposed to begin, even though he said he was on his way to court, and the witness’s father told detectives his son lives on the streets in Cleveland.
Cantalamessa said Patrick never gave a reason why he should be allowed to change his plea other than he changed his mind, and under the law, that is not a good enough reason, she said.
Lavelle said Tuesday’s hearing was the third, and Patrick did say at the prior two hearings he was innocent.
Judge Durkin said withdrawing the plea would put prosecutors in a bind in regard to witnesses, and he agreed that Patrick simply changed his mind and didn’t offer any new evidence. Judge Durkin said Patrick was fully made aware of his rights before he took the plea.
The victim’s family was present and did not wish to address the court. Patrick’s family was present, too. Lavelle said he will appeal Judge Durkin’s decision.
Patrick also received sentences of 11 years for the aggravated robbery and three years for the tampering with evidence charges. Under the plea agreement, they will run concurrent with the murder sentence, which carries a term of 15 years to life in prison. Patrick was given an additional year because of a firearm specification attached to the charges.