City man gets mandatory minimum in drug case

YOUNGSTOWN — With tears just before he was sentenced today to three years in prison, Kendale Clark told Judge Lou A. D’Apolito: “I just keep thinking about my children.”

He was tearfully embracing family members moments before sentencing by Judge D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The judge said if Clark was that concerned about his children, he would not have had enough cocaine on him to be charged with a first-degree felony, which he ultimately pleaded guilty to.

“You should have been thinking about your children when you were playing with drugs,” Judge D’Apolito said.

Clark, 32, was sentenced on a first-degree felony charge of possession of cocaine and a misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing.

The sentence he received is the mandatory minimum sentence someone can receive for a first-degree felony drug charge.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com