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Common Pleas
Docket Entries
Pennymac Loan Services, LLC vs. Martha Henderson, et al.; mortgage foreclosure ordered for East Sixth Street, Salem property.
Discover Bank vs. Terri Truex; $15,051 judgment granted to plaintiff.
Joseph McPeek vs. Walmart Supercenter; case dismissed, referred to arbitration.
Brian Calladine and Veronica Calladine; dissolution granted.
Darian Weyand vs. Steven Weyand; divorce granted.
Jordan Hissom and Joshua Hissom; dissolution granted.
Bruce White vs. Sara White; divorce granted.
Armandlyn George vs. Mark George; divorce granted.
County Treasurer vs. William Pitts, et al.; payment plan entered, case stayed.
County Treasurer vs. Jennifer Toporcer; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.
County Treasurer vs. Randall Stover, et al.; payment plan entered, case stayed, taxes for one parcel paid, with that parcel dismissed from case.
County Treasurer vs. William Castrucci, et al.; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.
Grand Jury
LISBON -- Two defendants served Wednesday with secret indictments issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for drug charges included:
-- Shaun Uscianowski, 46, Cleveland Street, Salem, possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, with a specification for forfeiture of money from a drug case, for allegedly possessing cocaine and $30 on Sept. 2, 2022.
-- Christopher McCauley, 45, Lincoln Avenue, Wellsville, illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, a third-degree felony, and fifth-degree felonies of possession of cocaine and possession of fentanyl-related compound for allegedly attempting to bring drugs onto the grounds of a detention facility and possessing cocaine and fentanyl on Feb. 11, 2022.
Court News
LISBON -- A Salem woman accused of physically abusing a child over a one-month period in 2020 was sentenced to 4 to 6 years in prison for the three felony counts against her.
Melissa Mills, 40, Franklin Avenue, Salem, appeared in Common Pleas Court recently for a hearing before Judge Scott Washam regarding her motion to withdraw the plea she entered in April to second-degree felonies of endangering children and felonious assault and third-degree felony endangering children.
Washam denied the motion and proceeded to sentencing, ordering the terms for all three charges be served at the same time, with the indefinite term of four to six years on the more serious of the two endangering children counts and 18 months for the other count and three to four and a half years for the felonious assault. She received credit for three days already served in jail.
Mills was accused of alleged child abuse and causing serious physical harm to a 4-year-old child from May 25, 2020 to June 17, 2020.
Also in Common Pleas Court:
-- Quint Witherow, 43, state Route 164, Leetonia, was sentenced to nine months in prison for fourth-degree felonies of theft from a person in a protected class and telecommunication fraud, with credit for 62 days served. The indictment said Witherow deprived an elderly woman of $5,485 through telecommunications fraud from Feb. 22, 2023 to July 4, 2023. He also received nine months in prison for a probation violation for possession of fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, with credit for 77 days served. The term is to be served at the same time as the other sentence. He possessed fentanyl on Jan. 2, 2021.
-- James Burkhammer, 56, Rochester, Pa., was ordered to serve 150 days in the county jail for violating his probation for a 1988 case of second-degree felony burglary when he trespassed in an occupied residence in East Liverpool on Jan. 25, 1988. He entered prison on Oct. 5, 1989 and was granted shock probation for five years, but there were several violations, including absconding the area for years. He received credit for 25 days already served and must serve the balance left of 125 days in jail.
-- Kayla Mennell, 28, Grant Street, Rogers, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony assault, fifth-degree felony harassment by an inmate and misdemeanors of disorderly conduct and misconduct at an emergency, with sentencing set for Jan. 13. Mennell was accused of acting belligerent and ignoring instructions to cease her behavior while East Liverpool police officers were attempting to assist an unconscious male lying in the road on St. Clair Avenue on Jan. 20. Mennell was intoxicated and resisted when detained, attempting to break out the cruiser window and then spitting saliva into the face of an officer. While at the police station, she allegedly began attempting to harm herself by banging her head on the wall and kicking an officer trying to stop her.
-- Anton Schafer, 40, Chester, W.Va., pleaded guilty to theft and three counts breaking and entering, all fifth-degree felonies, and misdemeanor criminal damaging or endangering for breaking into Vernon Dell Tractor Sales, where he was employed on Dec. 1, Dec. 5 and Dec. 8, all in 2022, and stealing $1,709 over those eight days. Sentencing was set for Jan. 10.
-- Nelson Green, 67, College Street, East Liverpool, was placed under community control for one year after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing cocaine on Sept. 13, 2020. He received credit for two days already served in jail.
-- Gary Dorsey, 62, 14th Street, Wellsville, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, and having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony, with sentencing set for Jan. 6. Dorsey was accused of possessing cocaine and a stolen gun while prohibited from possessing a firearm on June 15 due to a prior conviction.
-- Todd Kolodziej, 51, New Brighton, Pa., pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanor possessing drug abuse instruments, with sentencing set for Jan. 6. The incident occurred March 22, 2021.
Municipal
LISBON -- In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a psychiatric evaluation by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio for competency to stand trial was ordered for Randy May, 46, Mill Street, Leetonia, who's charged with felonious assault, a first-degree felony, for allegedly using a 2-foot-long solid steel rod to beat Leetonia police officer John Hancock about the head and face on Oct. 21 on Pearl Street in Leetonia. The assault caused injury which included a broken ankle.
A preliminary/pretrial hearing was set Nov. 7 for Nicholas Wolfe, 44, East Washington Street, Lisbon, charged with third-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanors of domestic violence, aggravated menacing and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Wolfe was accused of allegedly grabbing a woman by the throat so she could not breathe, pushing her to the ground, causing her to hit her head and kicking her in the head during a domestic on Oct. 15 in Salem. He allegedly threatened to kill her if she called police. Wolfe also possessed a baggy with a white crystal substance and a clear pipe with burnt residue while being taken into custody on a warrant on Oct. 29 in Salem.
A preliminary hearing was set Nov. 7 for Nicholas Edwards, 35, West Eighth Street, Salem, charged with fourth-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor assault for allegedly attempting to kick in the door of a Salem residence and then hitting a man who opened the door on Oct. 29.
A preliminary hearing was set Nov. 14 for William Barrett, 43, Grant Street, Lisbon, charged with fifth-degree felony breaking and entering for allegedly entering a garage and taking a fuel can on Oct. 30 in St. Clair Township.
A preliminary/pretrial hearing was set Nov. 14 for Andrew Hunley, 48, Youngstown, charged with fifth-degree felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor possession of drug abuse instrument for allegedly entering a garage and taking a fuel can on Oct. 30 in St. Clair Township. Hunley also allegedly possessed a baggy of hypodermic needles.
Christopher Smith, 48, East Pershing Street, Salem, was fined $750 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 171 days suspended, with credit for nine days served, for menacing amended from aggravated menacing, domestic violence and having weapons while intoxicated. Charges of aggravated menacing and another count of having weapons while intoxicated were dismissed. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and to possess no firearms, ammunition or other weapons. The charges all stemmed from an incident on May 4 in Salem when he grabbed a second loaded firearm after a first firearm was taken, then attempted to cause physical harm against a male and made threats to use the firearm against two people.
A sentencing hearing was set Nov. 18 for Jimmy Anderson, 34, Pine Hollow Road, Lisbon, who pleaded no contest and was found guilty of resisting arrest and menacing for threatening officers and resisting arrest when officers found him Oct. 30 on a Leetonia property where he wasn't permitted and there was an active warrant for a previous trespass incident. He was fined $200 and sentenced to 30 days in jail for criminal trespass for trespassing on the Leetonia property on Oct. 28. He was fined $230 and sentenced to 60 days in jail for driving under suspension and expired registration, with the term to be served at the same time as the 30-day term.
A sentencing hearing was set Nov. 12 for Trinity Lewis, 18, Norton Street, East Liverpool, who pleaded no contest and was found guilty of assault. Lewis was accused of pulling a woman to the ground by her hair and punching her on the ground multiple times at Walmart in Calcutta on Oct. 30.
A pretrial was set Nov. 12 for Lonnie Gilbert, 33, Depot Road, Lisbon, charged with violating a temporary protection order for allegedly yelling at a protected person while on speaker phone with someone else on Oct. 28 in Lisbon.
Kody Simpson, 31, North Avenue, East Palestine, was fined $150, with the fine suspended, for disorderly conduct amended from endangering children. Simpson was accused of causing a risk to a 1-year-old child he was supposed to be watching when the child walked off on his own and crossed a busy intersection in East Palestine on April 28. The child was found by a passerby who called 911.
Amanda Sierra, 43, Richardson Avenue, Negley, was fined $200 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 179 days suspended and credit for one day served, for misdemeanor aggravated assault amended from fourth-degree felony aggravated assault. She was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and to not have weapons of any kind. Sierra was accused of pointing a loaded handgun at another woman and saying she was going to kill her on Sept. 7 in Negley. A witness took the gun from her and unloaded it, with the firearm collected for evidence.
A pretrial was set Feb. 3 for Susan Pritt, 40, Haywood Street, East Liverpool, charged with theft for allegedly taking four items valued at $201 from TJ Maxx in Calcutta on May 23 and May 29, and then trying to return the items.
A status conference was set Feb. 6 and a court trial was set Feb. 13 for Alec Hamling, 40, Gavers Road, Hanoverton, charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and obstructing official business for allegedly taking a minivan belonging to a woman without permission on May 12 in Hanoverton and then hiding when deputies asked him to come out of a Hanoverton residence on May 13, attempting to run from a back door, only to be stopped. The case for obstructing had been bound over to the county grand jury but sent back to county Municipal Court.
Elizabeth Coulter, 43, Erie Street, East Liverpool, was fined $20 for criminal trespass for allegedly sleeping in her vehicle at the Broadway Wharf past closing time on Aug. 15 in East Liverpool after being warned multiple times that she can't park there after hours.
A pretrial was set Jan. 13 for Christopher McCauley, 45, Lincoln Avenue, Wellsville, charged with no license, loud exhaust and falsification for allegedly lying to a deputy by giving a different name than his own on Oct. 30 at the county jail.
A pretrial was set Feb. 6 for Malcom Aaron Carter, 30, Youngstown, charged with obstructing official business, use of unauthorized plate and no valid license. During a traffic stop on Oct. 30 in St. Clair Township, Carter denied consent for a search and refused to exit the vehicle several times, with police pulling him out and advising he was under arrest.
Cassandra Barber, 42, Pope Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $100 for theft for failing to scan and pay for eight items valued at $51 from the Calcutta Walmart on Oct. 23.
A pretrial was set Jan. 6 for Virginia Mills, 57, Main Street Wellsville, charged with improper/expired registration, driving under suspension, and theft for allegedly stealing $14 worth of items from Dollar Tree in East Liverpool on Oct. 30.
Steven Beaver, 48, St. George Street, East Liverpool, was fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 26 days suspended and credit for four days served, for criminal damaging. He was ordered to pay restitution of $250 for the victim. Beaver kicked in the door of an East Liverpool residence on Aug. 25.
Constance Pritchard, 65, Water Street, Salineville, was fined $100 for trash on premises for refusing a notice to cut down noxious weeds and remove litter on Aug. 5 in Salineville.
A pretrial was set Nov. 14 for Kayla Foster, 34, Harvey Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with reckless operation, fleeing and failure to comply and receiving stolen property. On Jan. 1 during a traffic stop in East Liverpool, she allegedly was driving a stolen vehicle and when told to shut the vehicle off, she allegedly put the vehicle in drive and fled.
A motion hearing was set Dec. 12 or John Burlini, 44, Poland, charged with operating a vehicle impaired first offense and reasonable control.
A pretrial was set Jan. 16 for Larry Warner Sr., 64, North Madison Avenue, Salem, charged with failure to reinstate and expired license.
Fredgerald Dupont, 37, College Park, Ga., failed to appear for speeding and failure to display hut (highway fuel use) sticker.
Shane Murphy, 18, Steubenville Pike Road, Lisbon, was fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended and credit for one day served, for underage consumption. He was ordered to complete 40 hours community service.
A pretrial was set Jan 14 for Alee Keyes, 18, Seventh Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with underage consumption, OVI first offense and OVI breath first offense.
A pretrial was set Feb. 6 for Desiree Walker, 30, East Taggart Street, East Palestine, charged with driving under suspension and two lights displayed.
A driving under suspension charge against Richard Barnes, 48, Faulk Avenue, East Liverpool, was dismissed.
Zachary Zabawsky, 22, Avalon, Pa., was fined $40 for speeding.
Brian Read, 42, Washington Street, Lisbon, was fined $80 for driving under suspension and a turn signal violation.
Robert Shields, 32, New Cumberland, W.Va., was fined $250 for driving under suspension.
Sean Labbe, 52, Warren, was fined $350 for driving under suspension.
No fine was issued against Thomas Bloor, 45, Vale Street, East Liverpool, for driving under suspension.