Municipal Court

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a preliminary hearing was set July 27 for Dustin Hockenbury, 40, Phenix City, Ala., charged with third-degree felony compelling prostitution, fourth-degree felony attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and fifth-degree felonies of importuning and possessing criminal tools. Hockenbury allegedly requested sexual conduct from an undercover agent posing as a 15-year-old female in exchange for $300, then drove to Salem for the meeting on July 20.

A case against Charles McQuillan, 64, South Main Street, Columbiana, was bound over to the county grand jury for fourth-degree felony assault and misdemeanors of aggravated menacing and resisting arrest for an incident July 4 in Columbiana when he allegedly threatened to shoot the store clerks at the Marathon gas station, refused commands by police to stop, resisted being handcuffed, and attempted to hit a police officer while being placed in an ambulance.

A case against Kimberly Allen, 25, Canton, was bound over to the county grand jury for a fourth-degree felony of grand theft auto for allegedly taking a woman’s vehicle without her consent on South Street, Homeworth, on May 18.

A pretrial was set July 27 for Robert Dale Buzzard, 50, Ohio Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with criminal damaging, domestic violence and drug paraphernalia for allegedly throwing a brick through a garage window on St. George Street, East Liverpool, breaking the window and striking the vehicle inside the garage, causing damage on June 27. The domestic violence and drug paraphernalia charges stem from an incident July 20 at the Quality Inn, East Liverpool, where he allegedly grabbed a woman by the throat and punched her in the nose. He also possessed a glass pipe with residue on it.

Jamie Tice Jr., 22, Malone Road, Salineville, was fined $300 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 120 days suspended and credit for 21 days served, leaving 39 days to serve in jail, for illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of assault from three separate incidents. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service. Tice struck a male victim twice in the face and four times in the back of the head after an argument on April 6 on Vine Avenue in Salem. On June 21 in the area of East Pershing Street and Ohio Avenue in Salem, Tice started screaming at a woman, grabbed her bag and threw it on the road, then threw her onto the ground, causing her to hit her head off of the curb, and threw his speakers at her. She called 911 and he threw her phone causing the call to hang up, then fled on a bicycle. On June 30, Tice was found asleep on a front porch on East Fourth Street in Salem with a meth pipe, scale and black plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance in his possession.

A pretrial was set Oct. 23 for David Boorn, 61, Hubbard, charged with possessing criminal tools and engaging in prostitution for allegedly requesting sexual conduct from an undercover agent in exchange for $160 and traveled to Salem on July 12 for the meeting.

A pretrial was set Oct. 23 for Ikeshia Marie Wimer, 26, Ashtabula, charged with soliciting for allegedly offering sex for hire on a known prostitution website and arranging to meet an undercover agent for sexual activity in exchange for money, then driving to East Palestine for the meeting July 19. She was also fined $75 for possesion of marijuana drug paraphernalia.

Charles L. Payne II, 42, Park Boulevard W, East Liverpool, was fined $150 for disorderly conduct, amended from domestic violence, with a visiting judge handling the case. He was accused of allegedly assaulting a woman on May 6 in East Liverpool,

A pretrial was set July 27 for Jamel Lee Chatman, 28, McKee Street, East Liverpool, charged with obstructing official business for allegedly leaving the scene of a drug investigation in the parking lot at Woodland Hills apartments in East Liverpool on April 3.

Elizabeth Lynn Coulter, 42, listed as homeless, East Liverpool, was fined $300 and sentenced to five days in jail, with credit for two day served, for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for failing to listen to orders of police officers during a traffic stop while she was a passenger in St. Clair Township on July 19 and pulling away from them while being placed in custody.

A pretrial was set Oct. 23 for Dennis Risden Jr., 46, Alliance, charged with drug paraphernalia and failure to display valid sticker for allegedly possessing two glass meth pipes and a digital scale with white residue during a traffic stop on July 4 in Knox Township. 

Adam Barkley, 24, Lisbon Street, Leetonia, was fined $150 for sale of tobacco products to a person under 21 for selling a pack of cigarettes to an 18-year-old person at Dollar General, East Pidgeon Road, Salem.

A pretrial was set Oct. 24 for Alvin Pugh, 43, Etruria Street, East Liverpool, charged with disorderly conduct for making loud banging noises inside his garage at 3:14 a.m. July 1 in East Liverpool after being warned previously to keep his noise down. 

Carol Ann Koffel, 77, Idaho Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $875 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for physical control, amended from operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. She was buying out 20 hours community service and her driver’s license was suspended for 180 days with driving privileges granted.

A pretrial was set Oct. 17 for Aaron Porter, 37, New Cumberland, W.Va., charged with OVI first offense and speeding. 

A pretrial was set Oct. 16 for Kathryn Desenze, 69, Depot Road, Salem, charged with OVI first offense, OVI breath first offense and tail lights.

A pretrial was set Oct. 12 for Douglas Seifert, 44, Park Court, Columbiana, charged with OVI first offense, OVI breath first offense, failure to stop after an accident and traffic control devices.

A pretrial was set Oct. 26 for Lindsay Lawrence, 31, Mingo Junction, charged with driving under suspension.

Jesse Ernst, 44, West New York Avenue, Sebring, was fined $200 for driving under suspension and speeding.

Grand Jury

LISBON — A Salem man accusing of trying to bring drugs into the Columbiana County jail was served Thursday with a secret indictment for three felony drug counts.

Henry Mills, 54, Grant Street, was charged by the county grand jury with a third-degree felony illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a special governmental facility and fifth-degree felonies of aggravated possession of drugs and possession of fentanyl-related compound for the incident on Sept. 2, 2022 when he allegedly possessed methamphetamine and fentanyl-related compound.

Also served with a secret indictment was Wilford Miller, 33, Clinton, Pa., possession of fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing the drug on Oct. 24, 2022.

Common Pleas

LISBON — A judge this week denied a motion to withdraw plea filed by a Pennsylvania man sentenced to 14 months in prison in June for charges from a sex for hire incident.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam issued his ruling in the case against Matthew Jennings, 43, Sharpsville, Pa., saying “while the defendant is clearly unhappy with the prison sentence in this case, he has not met his burden of demonstrating manifest injustice.”

He also wrote that “a post-sentence motion to withdraw a plea may be granted only in extraordinary circumstances in order to correct a manifest injustice.”

Jennings pleaded guilty on March 29 to attempted compelling prostitution, a fourth-degree felony amended from a third-degree felony compelling prostitution, along with pleading guilty to fourth-degree felony attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Charges of possessing criminal tools and engaging in prostitution were dismissed.

Jennings solicited sexual conduct from a Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force agent posing as an adult female and 15-year-old girl in exchange for $240, in addition to $35 extra for drinking with him first, and then arrived for the meeting Oct. 2, 2022 in East Palestine.

He was sentenced to prison terms of 14 months for the attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and 10 months for the attempted compelling prostitution and 60 days local incarceration for the OVI, with all to be served at the same time in prison, for a total of 14 months.

His driver’s license was suspended for two years and he was fined $525 for the OVI charge. He was also deemed a sexual offender required to report his address to the sheriff’s office of the county where he resides upon his release. He received credit for one day served in jail.

After he was sentenced, Jennings filed handwritten motions to reinstate bond, for bond reduction, to withdraw plea and to modify sentence. He claimed he “was coerced by counsel to take a plea of which I did not understand.” He wanted the plea revoked.

In the motion to modify sentence, he asked the court to take into consideration his past life history, lack of criminal history, productivity as a law abiding member of society, productivity as a peer of his community and his entire lifetime as a taxpayer to his country, state, county and city. He asked for his term to be served at the county jail.

Washam ordered that he be taken to prison to begin serving his sentence.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Joseph Degenova, 28, Harmony, Pa., was sentenced to nine months in prison for an amended charge of fourth-degree felony attempted compelling prostitution, fourth-degree felony attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and misdemeanor engaging in prostitution. A fifth-degree felony possession of criminal tools charge was dismissed. He was also deemed a sexual offender required to report his address to the sheriff’s office of the county where he resides upon his release. Degenova had originally been charged with compelling prostitution, but entered a guilty plea in April to the lesser charge and other charges. He made arrangements to meet an agent posing as an adult female and 15-year-old female for sexual activity in exchange for $180 on Aug. 28, 2022 in East Palestine.