Common Pleas

New Cases

Kurt Jordan, DeSellem Road, Lisbon, vs. Laurie Jordan, DeSellem Road, Lisbon; divorce sought.

U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Eureka, Calif., vs. Virginia Maylone, Osbourne Road, Wellsville, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Osbourne Road, Wellsville property.

Lionel Crissman, Canfield, vs. Ricoh USA Inc., Parsippany, N.J., and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; Ricoh appealing allowance of additional condition for claim.

Tidewater Finance Company, Virginia Beach, Va., vs. Keith Murphy, Speidel Road, Hanoverton, et al.; collection sought of $17,832 plus $2,665 interest owed from car purchase.

County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Ronna Stanton, Commerce Street, Wellsville, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Commerce Street, Wellsville property.

County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Ronald Gochenour, Alpha Street, East Liverpool, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Alpha Street, East Liverpool property.

Docket Entries

Huntington National Bank vs Edward Kane Jr., et al.; foreclosure judgment vacated, case dismissed.

MidFirst Bank vs. Anita Dines, et al.; case stayed.

County Treasurer vs. Christopher Miller, et al.; payment plan entered, case stayed.

County Treasurer vs. Lionmark Liverpool Limited, et al.; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

County Treasurer vs. Kathleen Skoda; delinquent property tax foreclosure ordered for manufactured home.

Court News

LISBON — A former corrections officer at the Columbiana County Jail entered a guilty plea recently for illegally bringing marijuana onto jail grounds when she arrived at work last October.

Shakeyla Bratton, 31, Youngstown, will face sentencing Aug. 17 for the third-degree felony charge of illegal conveyance of a drug of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility.

Bratton appeared in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court for the plea. The county sheriff’s office had received a tip about her bringing contraband to inmates inside the jail. When she arrived for her shift on Oct. 29, 2022, she had marijuana in her possession.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Terry Hughes II, 43, Canfield, pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs and possession of fentanyl-related compound, both fifth-degree felonies, with sentencing set for Aug. 3. Charges of possessing drug abuse instruments and drug paraphernalia will be dismissed. Hughes possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl-related compound on Sept. 8, 2021.

— John H. Quinn, 61, Hazelwood, Pa,, pleaded guilty to failure to verify address, a third-degree felony lesser offense, with sentencing set for Aug. 18. A charge of failure to provide notice of change of address was dismissed. Quinn failed to report his address on May 9, 2022 as required of a convicted sex offender.

— Cory Haueter, 36, Georgetown Road, Salem, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for Sept. 8, for possessing methamphetamine on Jan. 26, 2021 and July 8, 2021.

— Ahmed Alwishah, 66, Weirton, W.Va., pleaded guilty to improper use of certificate of title, petty theft and two counts of tampering with records, with sentencing set for July 14. Alwishah improperly used a car title from Nov.5, 2021 to Dec. 29, 2021 and deprived a man of an $800 down payment. The records tampering dealt with titles from April 5, 2021 through Aug. 16, 2021.

— Tammy Johnson, 55, McGavern Road, Salineville, pleaded guilty to two counts aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for Sept. 11, for possessing methamphetamine and morphine on Nov. 12, 2021.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a felonious assault charge was dismissed without prejudice against Anthony Baker, 37, Sophia Street, East Liverpool, at the request of the prosecution, with costs taxed to the state.

The charge had been filed on June 6 for an alleged incident at a Maryland Street residence in East Liverpool when he was accused of walking into the home with an open knife and going after a woman and juvenile.

A case against Fred Struble, 24, Chain School Road, East Palestine, was bound over to the county grand jury for fourth-degree felony charges of theft and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and a fifth-degree felony obstructing official business. Struble allegedly stole a motorcycle and fled with it, failing to stop for police attempting a traffic stop in Columbiana while fleeing at a high rate of speed on June 1.

A charge of domestic violence was dismissed without prejudice against Derek Thompson, 28, Chester Avenue, Wellsville, at the request of the state due to evidentiary issues, with costs taxed to the state. The charge stemmed from an allegation of a domestic on May 4 in East Liverpool when he was accused of pushing a woman, choking her up against the wall and punching her.

A pretrial was set Sept. 11 for Thomas Witherow, 62, Dallas, Texas, charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual acts with a female in exchange for $140, arriving in East Palestine on June 12 for the meeting. Witherow had just been convicted in April of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for soliciting sexual conduct in exchange for $200 from an undercover agent last July in Salem.

Adam Matthews, 30, Stoneboro, Pa., was fined $750 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and a 12-hour education course. Matthews was accused of responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranged to have sexual activity with two females in exchange for $180 and traveling to East Palestine on Dec. 26, 2022 for the meeting.

A pretrial was set Aug. 28 for David Rincones, 47, Youngstown, charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual activity with a female in exchange for $80, traveling to East Palestine on June 12 for the meeting.

Nikki Koffel, 34, West Fourth Street, East Liverpool, was fined $200 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 80 days suspended and credit for 10 days served, for assault for assaulting a woman on Feb. 18 in the Harker Cafe in East Palestine.

Jakob Graffius, 22, East Fourth Street, Salem, was fined $500 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for one day served, for two counts aggravated menacing. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service. Graffius was accused of making threats on Oct. 16, 2022 after an incident at the Steel Valley Gas Mart in Hanoverton and on the same day against a man on Campbell Road, Hanoverton.

A pretrial was set Aug. 1 for Ethan Hill, 20, Carmel Achor Road, Rogers, charged with aggravated menacing for allegedly threatening and harassing a man at Taco Bell in Lisbon on May 29, threatening to pull a firearm on him. He was also fined $30 for expired tag.

Kurt Smith, 50, Cleveland Street, Salem, was fined $100 for disorderly conduct, amended from domestic violence. Smith was accused of pinning a juvenile to the floor during an altercation on June 4 in Salem.

A pretrial was set Sept. 12 for Ryan Rygiel, 49, state Route 7, New Waterford, charged with obstructing official business and disorderly conduct for allegedly walking in the road on state Route 14 in Columbiana while intoxicated and refusing to identify himself to police on June 9.

A pretrial was set Sept. 18 for Brigit Young, 54, Hawley Avenue, Salem, charged with theft for allegedly shoplifting three packs of steaks and two bags of shrimp at Salem Giant Eagle on Oct. 19, 2022.

David Davanzo, 64, Struthers, was fined $50 for structural hazard, with charges of hazardous or unsanitary yard, failure to register vacant structure and failing to pay vacant structure monitoring fee all dismissed. The violations stemmed from conditions of a house at 730 N. Lincoln Ave., Salem.

Christopher Slasor, 51, Commerce Street, Negley, was fined $250 for drug paraphernalia for possessing two pipes commonly used for smoking crack cocaine in his possession.

A pretrial was set July 20 for Stephanie Igo, Jimtown Road, East Palestine, charged with illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia and a stop sign violation. Igo allegedly possessed a mirror containing white residue during a traffic stop on June 13 in Columbiana.

Charlotte Frazee, 47, Mineral City, was fined $150 and given credit for five days served for possession of drug abuse instruments for possessing a small pouch of hypodermic needles, along with a cut straw with residue inside, during a traffic stop on May 31 in Salem.

Timothy Beagle, 64, East Main Street, East Palestine, was fined $925 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs and traffic control devices. His driver’s license was suspended for one year.

Samuel Hepfner, 58, Cunningham Road, was ordered to pay costs for animals running at large for cows in the road in May.

A pretrial was set July 27 for Gavin Maze, 18, Highland Colony Street, East Liverpool, charged with speeding.

John Warner, 38, Garfield Heights, was fined $50 for possessing marijuana.

Cody Clark, 30, West Main Street, Washingtonville, was fined $100 for possessing marijuana

Zachary English, 27, Ninth Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $150 for speeding.