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Man sentenced for attack on WRTA bus
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Lewis Carlson said he forgives the man who beat him on a Western Reserve Transit Authority bus in June.
But that doesn’t mean he forgets.
Judge Elizabeth Kobly in municipal court sentenced Terrance Williams, 40, of Youngstown, to 90 days in Mahoning County jail. The judge found him guilty after Williams pleaded no contest to counts of assault and criminal damaging. She also placed him on probation after his jail term is completed.
Carlson said Tuesday he knows what it’s like to be down on your luck like Williams was, but that is still no excuse for being attacked.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to let anyone treat me like a pin cushion,” Carlson said.
Williams gets credit for the 34 days he has served since being arrested in the June 22 attack on Carlson inside a crowded WRTA bus. Carlson told the judge the bus was packed and passengers jammed together and Williams began attacking him because he thought Carlson had tripped him.
Carlson had an eye swollen shut and was punched and kicked in the head before someone separated the two, grabbed Williams and threw him off the bus.
“If it wasn’t for that guy who pulled me back on the bus and the bus driver, I’d be another statistic,” Carlson said.
Williams was locked out of the bus but tried to get back on by punching the door. He broke three windows before police arrived and he was taken into custody.
When Carlson said he forgave Williams, Williams said, “I love you, man.”
But Carlson wasn’t fazed. “That don’t mean I trust you,” Carlson said.
Williams apologized, saying he is undergoing mental-health counseling and wants to get better. Judge Kobly said she wants him to continue the counseling.
“You’re somebody that has a really short fuse,” Judge Kobly said.
An additional six months of jail time was suspended, but Judge Kobly said if Williams violates any of the terms of his two-year probation, he will serve those days in jail.