YOUNGSTOWN — Kevin P. Kramer, 46, of Ridge Avenue, pleaded guilty Monday to an amended charge of aggravated assault, and his case will be handled by the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court’s Mental Health Court.

Kramer stabbed a man who is related to him by marriage Jan. 8, 2024, officials said. It happened at Kramer’s home on the South Side.

In mental health court, which is run by Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Maureen Sweeney, a person’s sentence is held in abeyance pending completion of the mental health program. It is an option for individuals with a severe mental illness who have been charged with felonies and are facing a potential prison sentence, according to the program’s website.

The primary goal is to keep defendants psychiatrically stable and crime-free by teaching them to make healthy changes in their lives, it states. Kramer’s sentencing will be held in abeyance until he completes the CARES program. CARES stands for Change, Applying, Rehabilitation, Education and Support.

In May, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Donofrio ordered that Kramer be sent to Heartland Behavioral Healthcare, a state mental hospital, to be treated for several months with a goal of restoring him to competency to stand trial on felonious assault.

Donofrio ruled Kramer not competent to stand trial in May following a mental health evaluation. Kramer was returned to the Mahoning County jail in August. He was found competent to stand trial in September. Another evaluation was carried out in December as to whether Kramer should be admitted to the CARES program, according to court records. County prosecutors stated that the victim gave consent Monday to allow Kramer to participate in the CARES program.

The felonious assault charge was filed after police were called to Kramer’s home on Ridge Avenue on the South Side on Jan. 8, 2024, where a child answered the door and said she was scared and clung to the officer for comfort, according to a police report.

The officer found Kramer, who lived in the house, covered in blood on the floor and a man, 44, standing over Kramer, wielding a large steak knife, and threatening him.

The officer ordered the man with the steak knife to put down the knife, which he did. Another officer detained that man, while the first officer went to Kramer, the police report states.

The second man said Kramer, his wife’s brother, stabbed the second man after Kramer walked up to the other man and “sliced (his) throat.”

The second man said he then assaulted Kramer. Both men were taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for treatment.

The report states at the time of the fight there were several children in the home, which was in “deplorable condition with dog feces and urine all over the floor. One of the children was found to be sitting in a cat’s litter box.”

Food and running water were found in the house, but three small dogs were crammed in a small cage, the report states.