CANTON ‒ A judge imposed maximum sentences of eight years on two 19-year-old men convicted by a jury of beating a fellow inmate unconscious in March at the Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon.
A Stark County Common Pleas jury on June 11 convicted Jordan Worthey-Sturdivant and Carreyon A. Dukes of felonious assault where the victim was slammed onto his head, according to footage captured by a surveillance camera. It’s not clear the long-term effects or the severity of the injuries on the victim.
Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione cited the graphic video footage of the defendants beating the inmate. They momentarily stopped when an Indian River staffer entered the room before resuming the beating when the staffer left.
He said the beating he saw on the video was “one of the most pathetic things that I have seen.”
“Considering what I saw on this evidence of this beating and assault on the videotape, I believe it’s the worst form of crime. And I consider that it’s in a youth correction facility center,” Forchione said during the June 16 sentencing hearing. “This court is sickened by the behavior that I have seen at Indian River by the inmates or residents.”
The judge cited a state report in 2024 that found that violence at Indian River had led to more staff at the facility resigning.
The report said the facility had 88 incidents of juvenile offenders at the facility committing violence against staff, a 24% increase from 2023. Forchione said the case of the inmate being beaten was probably his fifth case he had presided over related to violence at Indian River this year.
“What I saw on that videotape it was incredible to me you would treat any human being that way. Your conduct carried a substantial risk of death,” said Forchione. “You took this young man who I could see on the videotape was doing nothing. Punched him repeatedly in the head and kicked him like he was some kind of animal.”
The judge added, “Gentlemen, I’ve had enough. This is not a slap-of-the-wrist court. This is a court that’s going to send you a message. The residents in Indian River a message and a message to the staff members that somebody’s got their back and going to protect them.”
The two defendants could be held in state prison a total of 12 years if they commit any infractions while incarcerated. On release, they will be under parole supervision for 18 to 36 months.
The jury convicted a third defendant, who is 20, of misdemeanor assault. He was initially charged with felonious assault for taking part in the beating. Forchione sentenced him to the maximum 180 days at the Stark County Jail.
However, he had credit for time served in the jail and is to be released, it wasn’t clear when, back to the custody of Ohio Department of Youth Services to complete this sentence for another charge there.
Attorneys seek to overturn verdicts
Sturdivant’s attorney Michelle Stine Makkos and Dukes’ attorney Rick PItinii argued that the jury’s failure to fill out misdemeanor assault verdict forms for their clients meant an inconsistent verdict. They sought a new trial or downgrading the convictions to misdemeanors.
“I feel in some respects the jury lost their way,” said Makkos.
Forchione denied their motion.
Neither the victim nor the defendants gave statements to the court. But staff from the Ohio Department of Youth Services were present in the courtroom during sentencing.
It’s unclear what juvenile charges resulted in the three defendants being sent to Indian River.
In another unrelated case at the facility, Elijah M. Arrington, 18, pleaded guilty in May to felonious assault in assaulting a staff member at Indian River on July 26. Forchione sentenced him to seven to 10 1/2 years in prison.
In April, two 18-year-old inmates at Indian River were charged with felonious assault for hitting a shop teacher in the head with a rubber mallet.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘A menace to society.’ Judge sentences Indian River inmates to 8 years for brutal beating
Reporting by Robert Wang, Canton Repository / The Repository
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