Deal nets guilty plea in Youngstown assault case
YOUNGSTOWN — Richard J. Armstrong Jr., 46, who has had numerous evaluations over the past four years to determine whether he is competent to stand trial since he was indicted in September 2020 on aggravated robbery, felonious assault and other charges, accepted a plea agreement Monday.
He pleaded guilty before Judge Anthony D’Apolito of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to charges of robbery, felonious assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Other charges he faced are being dismissed.
It was perhaps the first hearing in several years in which Armstrong’s mental health was not a major issue. Armstrong, of Youngstown, has been in the custody of the Mahoning County jail since August 2020, though he has spent part of that time in facilities where he could be assessed or treated for mental health issues.
Armstrong’s charges were filed after an incident in August 2020 at the Days Inn in Boardman in which he was alleged to have followed a man into the hotel and forced him into his hotel room at gunpoint.
A Boardman police report stated that the victim told police Armstrong had two pistols pointed at his head. The victim offered Armstrong money, but Armstrong did not take any. Eventually, the victim was able to leave the hotel room and contact Boardman police.
On Monday, attorney Mark Lavelle, who represents Armstrong, said his client has been doing “tip top” recently and is “completely lucid, relevant, not taking his meds, but it’s not seeming to affect him. He’s on top of his game.”
Steve Maszczak, assistant county prosecutor, explained that prosecutors are recommending that Armstrong get a 6- to 7 1/2-year prison sentence, but the defense is asking for less. Armstrong will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 19.
Lavelle said the judge agreed to sentence Armstrong to five to six years in prison, but it was important that Armstrong hear directly from the judge.
The judge said he is required to tell Armstrong all of the potential sentences Armstrong could get but also told him he intends to sentence Armstrong to five to six years in prison. He warned him that Armstrong must not commit any violations while awaiting sentencing, however.
The judge also explained that Armstrong will be under post release control for 18 months to three years after he leaves prison. If he violates the terms of his post release control, he could go back to prison for half of the prison sentence he gets, or 2 1/2 years.
When Armstrong was asked if he understood everything, he said he did but wanted “the record to reflect that I agreed to sign the five years,” and with credit for four years and three months in jail awaiting trial, “I expect to get out of prison sometime next year.”
Lavelle said he calculated the date Armstrong would leave prison to be Aug. 19, 2025, “if you gave him five years and there were no hiccups.” The judge agreed with those statements and said he will give Armstrong credit “for every day you have been in jail. That’s the law, and I never wanted to stand in the way of a defendant getting that time.”