Springfield man sentenced to prison in baseball bat attack

A Springfield man was sentenced to serve two years in prison in connection to a baseball bat attack.

Robert Kelly, 52, was sentenced in Clark County Common Pleas Court. Along with the two-year sentence, Kelly must complete three years of post-release control after he gets out of prison, Clark County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Driscoll said.

The man previously pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault, court records show.

Kelly’s legal trouble began July 21 when Springfield police were called to an apartment complex on Delta Road in reference to an assault. Police met with the victim who told them he was visiting a friend when Kelly walked by and began yelling about cans and trash in the lot and in the grass, according to the affidavit.

“(The victim) and his friends told Mr. Kelly to leave them alone since they lived in the apartments too they could be there,” according to the affidavit. “Mr. Kelly then got in (the victim’s) face pointing at him yelling racial slurs at him.”

The man told police he warned Kelly not to touch him because he would then have the right to defend himself, according to the affidavit. Kelly went into his apartment at this time, the affidavit says.

“Mr. Kelly then came back outside with a baseball bat and swung it at (the victim’s) head,” the affidavit says. “(The victim) put his arms up to shield his head, taking the hit to his left forearm. Mr. Kelly then went back inside his apartment and locked himself inside.”

Kelly was sentenced Oct. 21.

According to a court document outlining his sentence, Kelly could get some relief from his prison sentence. The court ordered that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction may reduce his sentence and he could file for judicial release.

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