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Man who skipped sentencing hearing wants to withdraw plea
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man who ran from his sentencing hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in June and was on the loose for about six months had a motion to withdraw his plea to a charge of felonious assault denied Monday.
The sentencing for Richard Labooth, however, will be delayed until a presentence investigation is completed, Judge Lou D’Apolito told him.
Labooth, 36, was to be sentenced June 9 for the charge and was out on bail for treatment of gunshot wounds to his leg he suffered in a Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at a Lora Avenue home where another man was wounded. Labooth was charged with felonious assault in that case and entered an Alford Plea, which means he maintains his innocence but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty.
Labooth left the courtroom during a break in his sentencing hearing in June and was not caught until December.
At the time of his sentencing prosecutors were recommending a sentence of five years but because Labooth left in the middle of his hearing, that agreement is no longer valid.
When he was wounded, police said two men, one of them wanting to buy marijuana, came to the house. Labooth pulled a gun, and the victim, who had a concealed-carry permit, returned fire. That man was shot three times, and Labooth was shot five times.
Labooth told Judge D’Apolito he wanted to change his plea because he is innocent, but Judge D’Apolito said he thinks the real reason is he knows he will be going to prison for a long time.
“It’s obvious today the reason he wishes to withdraw his plea is because of the inevitably of sentencing,” Judge D’Apolito said.
Labooth said he was the victim and is innocent. He said when he agreed to his plea he thought he would be allowed to have treatment on his wounds before he would go to prison. He was on house arrest before the June sentencing and was receiving treatment on the leg, where he was shot several times.
“I didn’t have no choice but to take this plea,” Labooth said. “I was the victim in this case. I got shot five times. That ain’t fair to give up my freedom for no reason.”
During that June sentencing hearing, Judge D’Apolito was in a trial so another judge was brought in to handle the sentencing, since it was an agreed-upon sentence. However, Labooth said he wanted to be sentenced by Judge D’Apolito only. Judge D’Apolito took a break from his trial, but during that break, Labooth walked out of the courthouse. The judge’s bailiff reported he saw Labooth get into a waiting car that drove away.