In pepper-spray case, victim gets to fire back

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An assault suspect who pepper-sprayed someone in the face at a fast-food restaurant received similar treatment in court as punishment from a Cleveland-area judge embracing the principle of “an eye for an eye.”

Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti recently told Diamond Gaston she could serve 30 days in jail or be pepper-sprayed by her victim. She chose the second option.

Cicconetti said he couldn’t really allow pepper spray, so harmless saline spray was substituted without Gaston knowing.

“He goes, ‘I’d really like to use pepper spray,’ and I said, ‘No, no, we can’t do that!” Cicconetti told WEWS-TV. He said what mattered was that the punishment sting emotionally, if not physically.
The Painesville woman, 20, says she learned her lesson.

“He’s like ‘Oh it’s water,’ and I’m like ‘Oh OK, that’s a relief,’” Gaston told WKYC-TV.

Cicconetti is known for occasionally doling out unusual sentences.

“I do whatever I think will prevent a person from coming back in the courts again,” the judge told WKYC. “Yeah it’s a little different. It’s a little unique, but maybe we just need that a little bit in the judicial system.”