Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, cases against John Wolfe Jr., 42, West Fourth Street, Salem, were bound over to the county grand jury for third-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault for allegedly striking a woman in the face multiple times and hitting her head off of the bathroom door and also allegedly placing his forearm against her throat and attempting to strangle her on Oct. 18, 2024 in Salem.

A preliminary/pretrial hearing was set March 27 for Ronnie Jackson, 67, Rose Drive, Lisbon, charged with fifth-degree felony aggravated menacing and misdemeanors of aggravated menacing and obstructing official business for allegedly threatening to slit another man’s throat and having a knife when he was searched on March 17 in Center Township. He also failed to fully identify himself when requested by sheriff’s deputies and corrections officers at the jail.

John Muschweck, 66, Stagecoach Road, East Liverpool, was fined $200 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 75 days suspended and credit for one day served, leaving 14 days of electronically monitored house arrest to serve for assault amended from domestic violence. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and to have no contact with the victim. Muschweck was accused of grabbing a child by the chin and throat area then throwing him onto the ground from a stool on July 7, 2024 in St. Clair Township, a police affidavit said.

Randall L. Ile, 50, Washington Street NW, Minerva, was fined $750 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for possessing criminal tools and engaging in prostitution. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and a prostitution prevention course. Ile was accused of requesting sexual conduct from an undercover agent for an agreed upon price of $160, then driving to Salem on Nov. 20, 2024 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

A pretrial was set June 12 for Chad Kaminski, 46, Middleton Road, Columbiana, charged with disorderly conduct for his alleged actions at the Columbiana Police Department on March 15 when he refused to sit inside to wait for his ride and kept exiting the building several times, then when the ride arrived, he attempted to push past an officer and leave while yelling expletives.

A pretrial was set June 17 for Jakob Hendricks, 35, Cherry Street, Washingtonville, charged with three counts of theft for allegedly failing to pay for $326 worth of items at the Salem Walmart on Dec. 31, 2021 and for allegedly altering a woman’s personal checks on May 15, 2023 in Washingtonville.

A pretrial was set May 8 for Ronald Burkhammer, 38, Riverview Street, East Liverpool, charged with theft for allegedly failing to scan and pay for 23 items totaling $161 at the Calcutta Walmart on March 11.

A pretrial was set May 1 for Zachary Taylor, 36, Barberton, charged with unlawful restraint and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly restraining a victim from leaving an apartment on state Route 45, Center Township, where there was a disturbance reported on March 17. During a second pat down of Taylor at the jail, a glass pipe used to smoke illegal drugs was found in a sock in his coat pocket.

A pretrial was set June 10 for Bettina Leake, 56, Sherman Street, Lisbon, charged with criminal damaging for allegedly breaking out a window in the back porch door and an inside door window at a relative’s property in Lisbon on March 11.

Ashly Shawn Parson, 39, Pennsylvania Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $350 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended, leaving 30 days to serve under electronically monitored house arrest for theft. Parson was ordered to complete 30 hours community service and to stay out of Calcutta Walmart. According to a police affidavit, she was seen selecting multiple items from multiple departments over several days from Aug. 4, 2024 to her termination from her job at the Calcutta Walmart on Oct. 27, 2024. She failed to scan and pay for 97 items totaling $534.

Rebecca Dyke, no age listed, West Fourth Street, East Liverpool, was fined $500 each on six counts of failure to file city income tax return, with all but $50 of the fines suspended on the condition that she comply with the payment plan and file and pay all future taxes. She failed to file East Liverpool city income tax returns from 2019 through 2024.

Heather Snyder, 38, Harvey Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $500 each for two counts of failure to file city income tax return, with all of the fines suspended on the condition that she file all due returns and make payments. She was accused of failing to file East Liverpool city income tax returns in 2020 and 2021.

Ashley Wagner, 31, Boardman, was fined $350 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for reasonable control and obstructing official business amended from falsification. A charge of failure to stop after an accident was dismissed. She was ordered to complete 40 hours community service. Wagner made a false statement to Columbiana police officers investigating a crash on Oct. 4, 2024 involving her vehicle, claiming she swerved to miss an animal in the road. Video footage determined that wasn’t true and that she ran a stop sign and went off the road into an embankment.

Danielle Lynn Rauch, 29, Hunter Camp Road, Lisbon, was fined $975 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 175 days suspended, credit for two days served and three days credit for completing a driver intervention program, for operating a vehicle impaired and disorderly conduct amended from endangering children, with $500 of the fine suspended. Charges of one way traffic and an additional OVI were dismissed. Her driver’s license was suspended for one year and she was ordered to complete 30 hours community service. She was impaired during a motor vehicle accident with three children in the vehicle on June 24, 2024 in Salem.

Jack Arnott, 22, Youngstown, was fined $300 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 27 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for marked lanes and reckless operation amended from operating a vehicle impaired. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His driver’s license was suspended for 180 days and he was ordered to complete 20 hours community service.

A pretrial was set March 24 for David Ours, 55, Wells Hollow Road, Wellsville, charged with OVI first offense, failure to stop after accident on public road and driving through safety zone.

A pretrial was set June 17 for Zeeshan Samad, 31, West Seventh Street, Salem, charged with OVI first offense.

A pretrial was set May 22 for Dallas Stewart, Spring Grove Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with failure to stop after an accident and driving under suspension.

A pretrial was set June 9 for Robert Gailey, 50, New Cumberland, W.Va., charged with physical control and use of unauthorized plate.

Ramel Shephard, 29, Cleveland, was fined $300 for invalid sticker and reckless operation amended from OVI.

Trenton Childers, 22, Canfield, was fined $75 for speeding.

Dalton Owen, 24, West Ninth Street, East Liverpool, was fined $150 for unauthorized plate and no license.

Eric Grunenwald, 41, Youngstown, was fined $600 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for failure to control and physical control amended from OVI. He was ordered to complete 25 hours community service.

Taylor Saunders, 33, Camelot Drive, Columbiana, was fined $125 for driving under suspension and expired tag.

Gabriella Williams, 37, Butcher Road, Leetonia, was fined $50 for a headlight violation amended from reasonable control.

Steven Barr Jr., 39, Cricket Lane, Columbiana, was fined $250 for driving under suspension.

Nicole Rotunno, 23, Poland, was fined $75 for an equipment violation amended from reasonable control.

Tammy Orr, 35, Boring Lane, East Liverpool, was fined $150 for driving under suspension and left of center.

Common Pleas

New Cases

Nationwide Insurance Company of America, Columbus, vs. Catlyn Weyand, Orchard Street, East Liverpool; damages of $24,960 sought to recoup personal injury payout for 2023 traffic accident.

SMB Private Education Loan Grant Trust vs. Mikayla Curfman, Speidel Road, Kensington; collection sought of alleged $22,520 debt.

Docket Entries

Julia Kurtz vs. Jerry Kurtz; divorce complaint and counterclaim dismissed.

Philip Black vs. Anne Black; divorce granted.

Court News

LISBON — An East Liverpool man entered guilty pleas in five separate cases recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, including for drug possession, fleeing from police and tampering with evidence.

Ronald Melott, 49, last known address Lacroft Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to third-degree felonies of tampering with evidence, aggravated possession of drugs and two counts of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and fifth-degree felonies of two counts aggravated possession of drugs.

Sentencing was set for April 3.

In the most recent case, he was accused of leading police on a 9-mile long pursuit on Oct. 22, 2024 in Liverpool Township before crashing the truck he was driving over an embankment, then bailing from the truck that landed on its roof and fleeing into the nearby woods.

He also fled from police on Oct. 6, 2024, tampered with evidence on May 18, 2023, and possessed methamphetamine on May 9, 2023, May 18, 2023, and July 11, 2023.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Tiffany Rabquer, 35, Somer Street, Leetonia, was placed on community control for three years and ordered to serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Lisbon during her sentencing for third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and misdemeanor falsification. She also received a mandatory fine of $5,000. She was accused of possessing methamphetamine and making a false statement on May 13, 2023.

— Michael Hover Jr., 34, West Ninth Street, Salem, pleaded guilty to possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for April 25, for possessing tramadol on Feb. 24, 2024.

— Kevin Frazier, 43, Michigan Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to grand theft, a fourth-degree felony, with sentencing set for April 1. A charged of breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony, will be dismissed. He was accused of trespassing in an unoccupied property and stealing two barge propellers valued at $30,000 each on Nov. 14, 2023.

— Alexander Aratari, 38, Applesway Drive, Leetonia, had his intervention plan dishonorably terminated for violating the terms, with a further disposition hearing set for April 17 in his case. He was placed on the intervention plan last year for 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. 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.

— Kip Bailey, 37, state Route 267, East Liverpool, was ordered evaluated by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio for competency and sanity, with a status hearing set for May 15. He was indicted last year for two counts menacing by stalking, a fourth-degree felony, and misdemeanor criminal child enticement for allegedly stalking two female juveniles in East Liverpool on July 2, 2024 by means of watching and hiding in bushes, creeping on his hands and knees while watching, and waiting and hiding from approaching vehicles. He also allegedly engaged in inappropriate and harmful talk to the juveniles, watching and continuously walking by the residence and peeling out in his vehicle.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Darius Ruffner, 20, East Fifth Street, Salem, was served Monday with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing methamphetamine on June 28, 2024.