A “hero” for the Mahoning County, OH Sheriff’s Office facing drunken-driving and weapons charges has agreed to drop his grievance to get his job back and will resign as part of a plea agreement.
David Schialdone, 39, of Youngstown, entered guilty pleas Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court before Judge Lou D’Apolito to charges of operating a vehicle impaired and having weapons while intoxicated, both misdemeanors.
Prosecutors were recommending a sentence of probation and the minimum OVI sentence for a first-time offender, which is three days in jail or in a driver’s education program.
Judge D’Apolito sentenced Schialdone to six months’ probation.
Schialdone was cited after he was pulled over Feb. 19 on South Avenue for speeding by a member of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He was found with a loaded gun in the glove compartment.
The weapons charge was amended as part of the plea agreement from improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony.
Both offenses are the first criminal charges Schialdone has had.
The gun was returned to the sheriff’s office as part of the plea agreement.
The pleas mean Schialdone can work in law enforcement again in the future, said Assistant Prosecutor Mike Yacovone, but Yacovone added, however, he imagines it would be hard for Schialdone to find a law-enforcement job because of the OVI conviction on his record and the fact he admitted he had a gun while he was drunk.
The weapons conviction does not bar Schialdone from owning a firearm because it is also a misdemeanor, Yacovone said.
Judge D’Apolito said Schialdone did not show good judgment when he got into a car too drunk to drive with a loaded gun inside.
“You have to have better judgment when you have a gun,” Judge D’Apolito said.
Sheriff Jerry Greene fired Schialdone a few weeks after he was cited, and Schialdone had filed a grievance to get his job back.
