Officials: Man Given Probation for Beating Wife’s Heroin Dealer with Bat

LOCKBOURNE, Ohio (WCMH) – As communities continue to deal with a heroin epidemic, a man in Ohio took the law into his own hands and beat a heroin addict nearly to death.

His punishment was probation, and some in the community said they support him.

NBC4 dug into the facts behind the sentence.

It was at a home in Lockbourne on Dec. 9 when Edwin “Tony” Sobony, 38, beat a man severely with a baseball bat after authorities said the man continued to share heroin with Sobony’s wife.

Sobony was convicted in September by a Franklin County Court jury for felonious assault, and the judge in the case gave him two years probation.

Presiding Judge Charles Schneider said he examined all the facts in the case along with a pre-sentence report and Sobony’s spotless record.

“So, I took all those things into consideration and overcame the presumption, and I am comfortable with my decision,” Judge Schneider said.

But he reminds people they cannot take the law into their own hands.

“I in no way support what Mr. Sobony did. I appreciate the frustration, but that does not support or condone vigilante justice,” explained the judge.

Since his conviction, Sobony has gotten hundreds of letters and online comments supporting him and what he did.

A Lockbourne neighbor who knows Sobony and his victim said, “I know what he did looks horrible on him, but if people would realize what he did was to protect his children. And those children’s lives mean more than anything to me.”

But, a village councilwoman said she does not condone violence.

“I can understand Tony’s frustration, but nobody– and I don’t care who or what you have done– deserves to be beat to a pulp with a ball bat,” said Jenny Lozier.

NBC4 spoke with the victim and he admits to being a heroin addict but says his skull was split open, 11 teeth of his teeth were knocked out and he is blind in one eye. He said he does not think the crime fits the punishment.

Lozier said this could have been avoided.

“We love our village and just want it to be cleaned up,” she said. “And if we call law enforcement, we would like to see something get done.”

Before his conviction, the judge said Sobony told jurors he acted a little aggressively but was just trying to protect his family.

http://wkrn.com/2016/11/03/officials-man-given-probation-for-beating-wifes-heroin-dealer-with-bat/