WARREN — Three defendants in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on Monday pleaded guilty to charges dealing with violent offenses.

Stephen M. Smith, 40, of Fairview Avenue SE, Warren, pleaded guilty to a third-degree domestic violence felony and a misdemeanor resisting arrest charge. Prosecutors said Smith could face up to 36 months in prison because of his previous domestic violence convictions out of Niles and Warren municipal courts dating back to 2016.

He will be sentenced after he undergoes a background investigation conducted by county probation officers.

Police reported the latest incident involving Smith occurred on Nov. 12, 2021, at an apartment in the 400 block of Cherry Avenue in Niles. A police report stated the defendant and a woman were watching television when the man began striking her in the face and then threw her down the steps. The woman, 38, who had bruises on her face, arm and back, refused to go to the hospital to get treatment.

Smith remains in Trumbull County jail after a judge revoked his $25,000 bond.

A second defendant, John D. Negrea, 23, of Elmwood Drive, Hubbard, pleaded guilty to two counts attempted felonious assault and a misdemeanor count of domestic violence connected to an Oct. 21, 2021, incident at a Hubbard home.

Negrea, who faces a possible nine- to 36-month prison term, earlier was ruled competent to stand trial and then agreed to plead guilty to an amended indictment as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. He will be sentenced after undergoing a background investigation conducted by probation officers.

Negrea was charged in a domestic incident that turned violent with the defendant threatening others outside an Elmwood Drive home with a knife. The woman, with whom Negrea allegedly was arguing, had visible marks on her neck. The defendant was arrested the next day after other incidents reported in Brookfield and Hubbard Township, a police report states.

He remains in jail pending the posting of a $25,000. Jail records show Negrea also had holds on him for a parole violation and out-of-state warrant.

A third defendant, Nathaniel Joy, 27, of Stanton Drive, Columbiana, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and will submit to a background investigation before sentencing. He could face as many as six months in the county jail. Joy was arrested on Nov. 28, 2021, after a pregnant woman was pushed into a bathtub during an incident at a Girard home.

Joy, who has been free after posting a $10,000 bond, saw his domestic violence felony reduced to a misdemeanor as terms of a plea deal with prosecutors.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com