Common Pleas

New Cases

Anna Chestnut, state Route 517, Lisbon, and Donald Chestnut, state Route 517, Lisbon; dissolution sought.

Kennedy Huston, Moore Road, East Liverpool, vs. Jacob Huston, state Route 170, Negley; divorce sought.

Carrie Mitchell, Allen Road, Salem, and Michael Mitchell, New Garden Road, Salem; dissolution sought.

Docket Entries

Cheyenne McLaughlin vs. John McLaughlin; divorce granted.

Mathie Supply Inc. vs. Blythe Construction LLC, et al. vs. First Commonwealth Bank; $52,784 judgment issued against Blythe.

Covington SNF doing business as Covington Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, vs. Shirley Baker; $7,478 judgment granted to plaintiff.

County Treasurer vs. Anthony Constantino, et al.; delinquent property tax paid, case dismissed.

Court News

LISBON — A Rogers teen accused of trespassing in a property to commit theft last year was ordered to serve 24 months in prison after violating his probation for burglary, a third-degree felony.

Camren Sisco, 19, Pancake Clarkson Road, had been placed on probation earlier this year after pleading guilty to a lesser offense for the Sept. 5, 2022 incident. The probation included up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville.

During a recent probation violation hearing in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, the prison term was imposed.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Richard Spinelli, 59, Streetsboro, pleaded guilty to attempted compelling prostitution, a fourth-degree felony lesser offense from compelling prostitution, and fourth-degree felony attempted unlawful sexual assault with a minor. Charges of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools will be dismissed. Sentencing was set for Nov. 27. Spinelli allegedly made arrangements to meet an officer posing as an adult female and 15-year-old female for sexual activity in exchange for $240 on Aug. 26, 2022 in East Palestine.

— David Evans, 33, Hillcrest Road, Wellsville, was placed on probation for 24 months, but also ordered to serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville as a requirement of community control for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony. Evans possessed methamphetamine and possessed a firearm at the time of the offense on July 15, 2021. He was prohibited from having a firearm due to being under indictment at the time for another case.

— Kira Jackson, 35, Vale Street, East Liverpool, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for drug charges from three separate indictments including two counts of fifth-degree felony possession of cocaine, third-degree felony illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility and fourth-degree felony possession of cocaine. Jackson was accused of possessing cocaine and taking it into a facility on March 12, 2022 and also possessed an amount of cocaine equal to or exceeding 5 grams but less than 10 grams on April 1, 2022. The prison time was ordered served after she completes an 18-month prison term for failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer from another case.

— Ashley Ross, 36, Independence Square, Wellsville, was ordered to serve three days in jail after her treatment plan for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, was terminated for violations. Ross possessed the drug lisdexamfetamine on April 1, 2021.

— An Alliance man accused of driving impaired and causing a crash which harmed a woman last year entered a guilty plea in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to vehicular assault, a fourth-degree felony.

Richard Benoy, 68, Johnson Road, also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A charge of aggravated vehicular assault will be dismissed.

Sentencing was set for Nov 16. Benoy was accused of causing serious physical harm to Diane Abbott as a result of committing an OVI on Aug. 19, 2022 while operating a 2000 Chevy Corvette.

— Austin Baird, 21, South Lincoln Avenue, Salem, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and given a mandatory fine of $5,000 after pleading guilty to third-degree felony possession of hashish, with a specification for forfeiture of money from a drug case. A trafficking in hashish charge was dismissed and $176 was forfeited. Baird possessed hashish in an amount equal or greater than 50 grams but less than 250 grams and possessing $176 cash on July 13, 2022.

— Robert Farkas, 46, Struthers, was ordered to serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville as part of his continued probation in three separate cases for fourth-degree felony trespassing, and two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony. Farkas violated his probation, which will continue to April 17, 2026. Farkas trespassed in a Salem residence on East Third Street on July 28, 2022, possessed psilocyn on Sept. 24, 2021 and methamphetamine on May 27, 2021.

— Matthew Crowl, 45, Benton Road, Salem, was sentenced to nine months in prison for possession of fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing fentanyl-related compound on April 19, 2022.

— Michael L. Cole, 33, North Lima, was placed on probation for 12 months after pleading guilty to criminal mischief. He was originally indicted on a fourth-degree felony charge of disruption of public services after calling both the East Palestine and New Waterford police departments 73 times on the non-emergency lines on Oct. 23, 2022 and not saying anything, either hanging up or having the dispatcher hang up on him. There were also calls made to the East Palestine police department on Oct. 14, 2022 when he didn’t speak, with the grand total of calls 115 on Oct. 14 and 23 in 2022.

— Glen Abel, 54, West Falls, N.Y., was placed on probation for three years, but ordered to serve 150 days in the county jail, with credit for one day served, for fourth-degree felonies of attempted compelling prostitution and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Charges of importuning, possessing criminal tools and engaging in prostitution were dismissed. He was deemed a sex offender, requiring him to register his address. Abel solicited sexual activity in exchange for $240 from a Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force agent posing as an adult female and a 15-year-old female and arrived in East Palestine with his cell phone for the meeting Sept. 2, 2022.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Two defendants accused of sex-related charges were served Tuesday with secret indictments issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for felony counts.

Joshua Welsh, 23, East Fourth Street, Salem, was charged with three counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fourth-degree felony, for allegedly having sexual conduct from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 21, 2021 with a child starting when the child was 13 years old.

Zachary Mills, 34, West Chestnut Street, Lisbon, was charged with gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, for having sexual contact with a child from April 30, 2017 to April 30, 2019 starting when the child was 6 years old.

Also served with secret indictments were:

— Fred Struble IV, 24, Chain School Road, East Palestine, fifth-degree felony possession of fentanyl-related compound for allegedly possessing fentanyl Dec. 10, 2022.

— Gary L. Smith, 62, Warren, fifth-degree felonies of possession of fentanyl-related compound and possession of cocaine for allegedly possessing cocaine and fentanyl on Jan. 18.

— Brianne Flaherty, 28, Birch Road, East Liverpool, fifth-degree felony possession of cocaine for allegedly possessing cocaine on Oct. 25, 2022.