Common Pleas

New Cases

Nationstar Mortgage LLC, Coppell, Texas, vs. Edwin Chase Jr., East Main Street, Salineville, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Columbiana County property.

Jefferson Capital Systems, LLC, St. Cloud, Minn. vs. John Bentz, Lisbon Street, East Liverpool; collection sought of alleged $18,283 debt.

Docket Entries

Huntington National Bank vs. Joseph Paumier doing business as Paumier Construction, et al.; judgment lien on Paumier’s residential property released, judgment lien on vacant lots owned by defendants retained, with judgment lien on behalf of plaintiff revived for certain parcels.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. vs. William Barz, Old Fredericktown Road, East Liverpool $32,241 judgment granted to plaintiff, monthly payments ordered.

Dawn Shaffer and Mark Shaffer; dissolution granted.

Court News

LISBON — An East Palestine man accused of threatening another man and attempting to run him over was placed on an intervention plan for 24 months after pleading guilty recently to three charges in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

Alexander Aratari, 38, West Martin Street, entered the guilty plea to attempted vehicular assault, a fifth-degree felony, and misdemeanors of violation of a protection order and aggravated menacing. He was originally charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony.

As part of the intervention plan, Aratari was ordered to serve 15 days in the county jail, but received credit for 15 days already served, leaving no jail time to serve.

The charges all stemmed from an incident on July 26, 2023 in Washingtonville where he was accused of attempting to run over the victim while the victim was mowing a neighbor’s yard, by driving up an embankment at a high rate of speed and barely missing him. He had also been giving the victim the middle finger whenever around and violated a protection order, causing the victim to believe he would harm him.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Randall Morris, 60, Trinity Church Road, Lisbon, was placed under community control for three years for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of both-OVI, a misdemeanor, and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fifth-degree felony. For the OVI, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served, leaving none to serve. He received a mandatory $375 fine and his driver’s license was suspended for 12 months. Charges of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and another OVI were dismissed. Morris was accused of possessing a loaded handgun in his disabled vehicle when a trooper found him impaired Nov. 25, 2023.

— Rishun Jones, 20, Youngstown, was ordered to serve 120 days in the county jail, with credit for 80 days served, leaving a balance still to serve of 40 days in jail for violating the terms of probation for complicity to possess fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony. Jones was accused of trying to possess fentanyl on July 8, 2022. Jones’ probation was dishonorably terminated.

A woman found not guilty by reason of insanity earlier this year for third-degree felony burglary was ordered hospitalized at Heartland Behavioral Health in Massillon after a recent hearing.

Holly Maddocks, 25, formerly of East Liverpool, faced a hearing last week in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court regarding a review of her commitment.

After being found not guilty by reason of insanity and determined to be a mentally ill person, she had been conditionally released into the community in June, but that conditional release was rescinded in October after multiple violations of the terms of her release, along with alleged psychological decompensation.

Based on a recent evaluation by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio, hospitalization was determined to be the least restrictive commitment alternative. Another review was set for Feb. 12.

Maddocks was charged in 2023 with third-degree felony burglary for allegedly breaking into the home of a family friend in East Liverpool, beginning to tear up the interior and drinking the homeowner’s alcohol on May 14, 2023.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Robert R. Smith, 48, last known address Hammond School Road, Wellsville, will face a motions and possible sentencing hearing on Jan. 31 after changing attorneys and filing a motion to withdraw his guilty pleas in two separate indictments. He entered the guilty pleas in September to fifth-degree felony receiving stolen property for possessing an equipment trailer which was the property of Kevin Chronister on Aug. 19, 2023 and a lesser offense of third-degree felony burglary and misdemeanor assault for returning to the Hammond School Road property April 26, 2023 after being evicted, kicking in the door and assaulting a person who was working inside. He had been scheduled for sentencing previously, but it’s been delayed twice after he terminated one attorney and then got another one, then filed the motion to withdraw plea. The state was given 14 days to respond to the motion.

— Douglas Austin, 41, Orchard Street, East Liverpool, was placed under community control for two years after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. He was originally charged with fourth-degree felony domestic violence. Austin was also sentenced to 180 days in the county jail, but 179 days were suspended and he was given credit for three days served. Austin was accused of punching a woman in the head and slamming her face off of the car dash before pulling her out of the car onto the street on Oct. 14, 2023 in East Liverpool.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a pretrial was set March 25 for Donald Hays, 55, North Jefferson Street, Lisbon, charged with domestic violence for allegedly pushing a woman down the stairs of his home, causing visible injury to her on Dec. 24 in Lisbon.

Matthew Hawken, 31, Toronto, was fined $250 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 83 days suspended and credit for seven days served, for obstructing official business. He was ordered to complete 40 hours community service. He was accused of refusing to follow police commands to stop and then running away on foot on Aug. 24 in East Liverpool. An affidavit said he was found behind a shed and ordered to the ground, then he attempted to flee again and was tased.

A pretrial was set Feb. 27 for Ervin Kyles, 65, Pittsburgh, Pa., charged with illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia, operating a vehicle impaired first offense, driving under suspension and license plate light violation. Kyles allegedly possessed a glass drug pipe during a traffic stop on Dec. 23 in Lisbon.