43
Physical, mental effects linger, hazing victims testify
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
All Braylon Stubbs and Resean Yancey wanted to do was join a fraternity, for the brotherhood.
Instead, the two were beaten so badly in initiation rituals they were hospitalized, and the physical and mental effects of the hazing linger to this day, both testified in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Stubbs and Yancey gave statements Tuesday before Judge Shirley J. Christian in the sentencing hearings of Jairus Ford, 36, and Edward Robertson, 32, who were two of nine men indicted for a series of beatings Stubbs and Yancey endured in January and February 2012 to try to get into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Ford and Robertson pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of obstructing justice and assault, respectively. Sentenced later was Lavell Sharp, 28, on a felony charge of obstructing justice.
“To this day, I can’t understand why I still have nightmares about what happened,” Stubbs said.
Yancey said he still carries physical scars and infirmities from the beatings he took, such as not being able to hold his young nephews and nieces because the nerve damage in his arms does not allow him to keep his arms steady. He said he feels like an old man in a young man’s body.
“Life is different. A lot different than I thought it would be,” Yancey said. “Who knows if I will ever be on top?”
Stubbs, who came from Chicago for the hearing, said he has picked up the extra stigma of being a “snitch” because he gave detectives complete information on the beatings and who administered them.
“Here, it’s considered a bad thing to tell the truth, but that’s all I know how to do,” Stubbs said.
Ford declined to comment because of a pending civil suit before he was sentenced to one year of probation by Judge Christian, which was the recommended sentence from defense attorney Tom Zena and prosecutors.
She sentenced Robertson to two years of probation with 60 days of that to be spent in jail, but she amended that to 90 days of house arrest because Robertson cares for his child while his wife works. She also ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service.
Sharp also was given two years of probation with six months of that to be served in jail. Judge Christian said the sentence is warranted because Sharp was the “dean of pledges” at the time and was in a position to have the beatings stopped.
Judge Christian said she does not believe the three men she sentenced Tuesday or the other six meant to hurt Stubbs and Yancey, but she added that intense physical punishment to instill teamwork or a sense of brotherhood is wrong and against the law.
“This case is a perfect example of what can happen when you attempt to instill positive values in a negative way,” Judge Christian said.