18-year-old girl's case one of Judge D'Apolito's hardest, he tells her

YOUNGSTOWN

Judge Anthony M. D’Apolito told a Youngstown woman her case is one of the hardest he’s adjudicated in his brief tenure as a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court judge.

Alyssa Heydle, 18, of Williamson Avenue, pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted burglary, trespass in a habitation and two counts of breaking and entering in July — all felonies.

Heydle, along with Robert McGuire, 26, of Boardman, robbed the Pizza Joe’s at 6810 Market St. at gunpoint on Jan. 21.

The pair also broke into several businesses at the Southern Park Mall earlier in January, and Struthers police arrested them attempting to break into a home on Jan. 24.

Heydle faced a maximum sentence of nine-and-a-half years.

However, both the prosecution and her defense attorneys recommended probation given her age and her voluntary entry into a drug treatment program that has resulted in seven months of sobriety.

The crimes happened just weeks after her 18th birthday.

Heydle said she had turned to drugs after both her brother and father died, which led to a period of pain and anger.

“When I took my first drug, I felt my pain and heartbreak disappear,” Heydle told the court.

Read more about her case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.