YOUNGSTOWN — Jerome Whitfield, 56, was sentenced to four to six years in prison Monday for assaulting men ages 73 and 63 Feb. 5 at the Brandywine Apartments on Canfield Road.

Whitfield pleaded guilty before Judge Anthony Donofrio of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to felonious assault involving the older man and misdemeanor assault involving the other man.

Kevin Trapp, assistant county prosecutor, said video from the apartment complex showed that Whitfield carried out an unprovoked attack on the 73-year-old in which Whitfield “slammed” him into the ground and punched him three times in the head.

The victim suffered a brain bleed and has been in the hospital since the attack, Trapp said.

Defense attorney John McNally said Whitfield was born in Georgia and had a difficult childhood that included his stepfather killing his mother in a brutal way. Whitfield has a 10th grade education and has not worked in 10 years, McNally said.

Mental health evaluations were carried out on Whitfield, and he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has been treated locally for those issues, McNally said.

On the day of the assaults, Whitfield was having trouble with his mental-health medications and was “tense and agitated,” McNally said.

Whitfield “gets angry quickly” because of his mental health issues, and “just sort of snapped,” McNally said.

Donofrio, who viewed the video, said he saw nothing indicating that the victims provoked Whitfield. The judge said it also appears that Whitfield failed to comply with the drug therapies he was prescribed.

Before sentencing, Whitfield apologized for his actions, saying, “I’m very sorry for what took place.”