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Dellick stipulates to probation violation
Dellick Family Statement
Document
Father of John Dellick makes statement concerning the well being of his son.
Dellick Family Statement
Video
The son of Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick stipulated today that probable cause exists that he violated the terms of his probation from an aggravated assault conviction from 2015. Visiting Judge Michael Nunner set a bond hearing for 1 p.m. Jan. 20 in common pleas court for John Dellick, who will remain in the county jail until then. After the hearing, Dellick's family said, in a statement released by its new attorney, David Betras, that John was planning to kill himself when he checked into a Boardman hotel last weekend with a handgun that was later found.
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The son of Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick stipulated Monday that probable cause exists that he violated the terms of his probation from a 2015 aggravated-assault conviction.
Visiting Judge Michael Nunner set a bond hearing for 1 p.m. Jan. 20 in common pleas court for John Dellick, 21, who will remain in the county jail.
After the hearing, Dellick’s family said in a statement released by its new attorney, David Betras, that John was planning to kill himself when he checked into a Boardman hotel last weekend with a handgun that was found later.
His father, John T. Dellick, said his family did not know their son was planning to end his life until Boardman police contacted his previous attorney last week and he, in turn, informed the family.
Once family members knew, they made the decision to have the younger Dellick turn himself in to the Adult Parole Authority on Friday. He has been in the county jail since.
The statement said the younger Dellick would continue to receive treatment for his mental-health issues.
“Despite the challenges caused by the notoriety of his case, John has made steady progress over the past year. He is enrolled in college where he made the dean’s list for the fall semester,” the statement said. “As families who find themselves in situations like ours will readily admit, however, relapses can, and often do occur, many times without warning. John, has, unfortunately, experienced a relapse.”
The statement also notes that while the younger Dellick has taken responsibility for his actions, unlike most people in a similar situation, his case has been played out in the media, and “John was and is constantly exposed to ridicule and scorn even though he took full responsibility for his conduct.”
The statement also asks that the family be given privacy so that the younger Dellick can continue his treatment, but it also acknowledges that the public and media are interested in the case and have a right to know it is being handled like any other case would be for anyone else.
Dellick turned himself in after Boardman police were called Jan. 3 to a hotel after a staff member found a loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a room Dellick had paid for the night before. Dellick was the last person to rent the room, redacted police reports indicated.
The report was then forwarded to state probation officers. Because of his guilty plea to the aggravated-assault charge, a fourth-degree felony, Dellick is not allowed to own a weapon, and as part of his probation, he is not allowed to have a gun or be around a gun.
Judge Nunner sentenced Dellick to 18 months’ probation in February 2015. The sentence was agreed upon by both defense counsel and prosecutors with the state attorney general’s office, who handled the case. The charge came from an October 2013 road-rage incident in Canfield, where Dellick is accused of ramming a man’s car, throwing a bottle at the man and his wife and yelling racial slurs at them; and a July 2013 incident in which Dellick is accused of picking up his friend, carrying her to his Jeep and throwing her head-first into the vehicle at a Canfield plaza where they had agreed to meet.
Seven other counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
Betras said the maximum sentence Dellick can receive on the probation violation is 36 months in prison.
Betras did not ask for bail for Dellick. He said the next step is to have him assessed at the jail before the bond hearing to determine the extent of his mental problems.
Betras said Dellick’s parents do not want any special treatment for their son nor have they ever asked for any special treatment. He said Dellick’s parents want the case to proceed as it would with anyone else.