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ELO suspect obtains counsel, case continued

EAST LIVERPOOL — The case of a Sprucevale Road man reportedly found with a loaded handgun in his vehicle while he was inside a city-owned building was continued this week in Municipal Court.

Dillon Lockhart, 22, was set to appear Thursday morning for a second pretrial on charges of criminal trespass and mishandling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, but court personnel said that changed Wednesday when he opted to hire his own attorney.

Lockhart notified the court Wednesday he has hired attorney Charles C. Amato to defend his case, and on Thursday, instead of a second pretrial, Judge Melissa Byers Emmerling dismissed public defender Stacie Alejars and appointed Amato to the case.

A pretrial was scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Dec. 4, with Lockhart’s $10,000 cash/surety bond continued. He is ordered to not have possession of guns, ammunition or any other types of weapons, including knives, ballbats or brass knuckles, and was ordered to not be on the former Riverview Florist property, which is owned by the city’s Community Improvement Corporation.

Lockhart is accused of being found inside a building on the property by city officials and police officers, who said he had a 14-inch knife in his hand at the time and a loaded .45-caliber pistol in between the console and passenger seat of his vehicle, as well as crossbows, knives and baseball bats modified with sharp instruments such as saw blades and barbed wire.

jgilbert@mojonews.com

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