Thursday, December 29, 2016
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Ronald Magby told a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge it was out of his character to restrain his girlfriend, beat her, set her and himself on fire and try to blow up his house.
Just before the 58-year-old Magby was sentenced Wednesday on a slew of charges for the Nov. 24, 2015, crime in which he suffered third-degree burns on his torso, he apologized in a monotone voice and said his actions that night are not normal for him.
“I’m sorry for what I did. It’s out of my character,” Magby told Judge Shirley J. Christian. “It’s something I would never do. I’m just not that type of person who would harm or hurt anyone.”
Judge Christian, however, said the crime was horrific, and giving him a short prison term or probation, as suggested by his lawyer, would demean the seriousness of the crime.
“This was an extremely violent, aggressive event,” Judge Christian said. “I can’t imagine the terror that was going on in that house that night.”
Magby, of Megan Circle, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to charges of aggravated arson, attempted murder, felonious assault, domestic violence and kidnapping. Prosecutors were recommending an eight-year sentence. Judge Christian followed that recommendation.
Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Cantalamessa said the victim was an ex-girlfriend of Magby’s who had come to his house the night before the attack.
The two argued throughout the night. Magby used zip ties to tie her to a bed, duct tape to tape shut the windows, and he beat her with a baseball bat.
Magby also ripped out the gas line to his stove in an attempt to set the house on fire. At some point, the victim caught fire and hit a panic button on an alarm system which summoned police.
Magby also caught on fire and tried to drive away while ablaze when police arrived. They shot him with an electronic stun weapon and helped to put out the flames that covered his body.
Magby’s attorney, Rhys Cartwright-Jones, said it took a while for the case to be resolved because his client acted out of character when he attacked the victim, and it took Magby a long time to realize what he had done and for it to sink in.
The defense lawyer asked for a far lower prison sentence or even probation with county jail time, saying his client has a minimal criminal record and was a longtime employee at the General Motors plant in Lordstown before his arrest.
But Judge Christian disagreed, saying a simple argument should not end the way Magby’s did.
“I don’t think any verbal argument of any kind can justify the kind of behavior he’s pleaded guilty to,” Judge Christian said.