The Vindicator / Ed Runyan Damian Cessna, 28, who was shot by a Boardman police officer after Cessna charged at the officer with a knife in 2021 has an early release hearing set for May 14.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Maureen Sweeney has scheduled a hearing on whether to grant an early release from prison for Damian Cessna, 28, who was shot by a Boardman police officer after Cessna charged at the officer with a knife early July 13, 2021.

The hearing is set for 9 a.m. May 14. Prosecutors do not oppose the early release.

Cessna, who got credit for nearly a year locked up in the Mahoning County jail awaiting trial, now qualifies for judicial release, which is a type of early release approved by the sentencing judge, Cessna’s attorney, Mark Lavelle, stated in a Feb. 9 filing.

Cessna was sentenced to four to six years in prison in June 2025 after being convicted at trial of felonious assault.

Sweeney scheduled a judicial release hearing for Cessna last October after Lavelle filed for it. But prosecutors later said Cessna did not yet qualify for it, and Sweeney denied the early release. Prosecutors said Cessna needed to spend at least 180 days in prison before he would be eligible.

Cessna was delivered to prison July 29, 2025, according to prison records.

Lavelle’s Feb. 9 filing states that Cessna “has demonstrated genuine rehabilitation by maintaining good conduct throughout incarceration.” When he is released, he will live in Boardman and has a “strong support system in place,” the filing states.

The incident took place on South Avenue in Boardman at 12:30 a.m. when an officer saw Cessna riding a bicycle late at night with no lights on while holding a baseball bat. Cessna also was on the wrong side of the road.

The officer said he pulled Cessna over out of concern for Cessna’s safety. Cessna put down the baseball bat but refused when the officer asked Cessna to take a knife from a sheath on Cessna’s belt and toss it away.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said at an earlier hearing that she believes Cessna needs treatment and intensive supervision when he leaves prison.

The officer said he believed that Cessna was on his way to the home of a “romantic rival” the night of the incident and was armed with knives and a baseball bat.