Man sentenced in domestic violence case

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A city man Tuesday was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to at least six months in prison after pleading guilty to several charges stemming from a domestic dispute in May.

Cee Jay Latimer, 21, pleaded guilty before Judge John Durkin to two counts of domestic violence, both fourth-degree felonies; burglary, a second-degree felony; and endangering children, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Judge Durkin sentenced Latimer to two to three years with the possibility of judicial release after six months. That was the sentence the attorneys in the case agreed to.

Latimer will receive credit for 109 days served in the county jail while awaiting the outcome of his case.

Latimer was arrested April 5 after Youngstown police were called about 8:50 a.m. to an apartment on Vestal Road by a woman who said Latimer got inside after taking out a window screen and entering through an unlocked window.

Reports said the woman told police that Latimer punched her 2-year-old child and she chased him to a bathroom. He left, then came back as she called police, and he punched her in the arm, reports said.

Reports said Latimer was upstairs when police arrived, and he was taken into custody without incident. He told police that he only entered the apartment because he was asked by the woman in a text, but when asked to provide his phone, he said the battery was dead, reports said.

Reports also said Latimer was issued a trespass warning on March 13 to stay away from the apartment.

Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Day told the judge the victim in the case wanted to ensure that Latimer received treatment for substance abuse and mental health while in prison.

Defense attorney Tony Meranto also agreed that his client could benefit from counseling in those two areas.

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