Common Pleas

New Case

Yvonne Foor, Plymouth Street, Hanoverton, and Simon Foor, Plymouth Street, Hanoverton; dissolution sought.

Docket Entries

Premier Bank vs. Brandy Humphrey, et al.; mortgage foreclosure ordered for Greentree Place, Lisbon property.

County Treasurer vs. William McGonigal, et al.; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

County Treasurer vs. Michael McCullough, et al.; defendant TotalEnergies E&P USA, Inc. dismissed from complaint.

Discover Bank vs. Susan Meissner; case stayed due to bankruptcy filing.

County Treasurer vs. Ronald F. Miller, et al.; BP America Production Company dismissed as party to foreclosure.

Tax Ease OH V, LLC vs. Steven Kohl, et al.; mortgage foreclosure ordered for U.S. Route 30, Kensington property.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Ricky Smith, 69, Warren, was served Tuesday with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, a third-degree felony, and possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing fentanyl and attempting to take drugs into a detention facility on Jan. 18, 2023.

Court News

LISBON — A Steubenville man accused of trafficking and possessing cocaine in 2022 was sentenced to four to six years in prison.

James Chico Swearengen, 44, recently appeared in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to face his punishment for lesser offenses of trafficking in cocaine and possession of cocaine, both second-degree felonies which were originally first-degree felonies, with specifications for forfeiture of money in a drug case.

He also received mandatory fines of $7,500 for each of the two counts and he received credit for four days already served in jail. The forfeiture of $1,691 will be handled in a separate judgment entry.

He was accused of preparing for sale and possessing cocaine in an amount equal or greater than 20 grams, but less that 27 grams, along with possessing $1,691 cash, on June 11, 2022. Originally the amount was alleged to be equal or greater than 27 grams but less than 100 grams.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Branden Robinson, 41, West Ninth Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a fourth-degree felony lesser included offense (originally felonious assault, a second-degree felony), and third-degree felony tampering with evidence, with sentencing set for June 6. A charge of misdemeanor criminal damaging will be dismissed. Robinson was accused of pointing a loaded handgun and pulling the trigger in an attempt to physically harm another man in a fit of rage Oct. 19 in East Liverpool. The tampering charge stemmed from him throwing a spent shall casing out of the window of his vehicle while fleeing the scene. He was also accused of smashing out the windshield of the other man’s car.

— Kennith Jordan, 51, West Pidgeon Road, Salem, was sentenced to a grand total of 33 months in prison after sentencing in a 2023 case and pleas and sentencings in two additional cases. The terms in the three cases were ordered served consecutive to each other. Jordan pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing hydrocodone on July 10, 2022 and was sentenced to nine months in prison for that case. He pleaded guilty to nonsupport of dependents, a fourth-degree felony, for failing to pay child support for a child from Dec. 4, 2022 to Dec. 1, 2024, receiving another nine months in prison. He was sentenced to 15 months for third-degree felony failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them. Charges of OVI refusal, driving under suspension, and drug paraphernalia will be dismissed. He received credit for 103 days served in jail. He was fined $375 and his driver’s license was suspended for 10 years. Jordan led troopers on a high-speed chase on a motorcycle on Sept. 11, 2023 in Elkrun Township, eventually crashing and running on foot before being tased and taken into custody. He also possessed a hypodermic needle and suspected marijuana.

— Donna Jean Potts, 36, Avondale Street, East Liverpool, was sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs for possessing methamphetamine on April 20, 2024. A charge of possessing drugs was dismissed. The prison term was ordered served concurrent or at the same time as the prison sentence Potts already received in the fall. She was sentenced to 12 months in prison for third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and two counts of misdemeanor endangering children when she possessed methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than bulk, but less than five times bulk and put two kids at risk, ages 7 and 9 years old, on July 28, 2021. She was also sentenced to an additional 18 months in prison for third-degree felony burglary misdemeanors of assault and arson. Between the two, she received 30 months in prison. Potts had been accused of using a propane torch to destroy several items in an East Liverpool home and assaulting the resident on Feb. 26, 2024.

— Samantha Gallimore, 35, Minerva Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony burglary, a lesser included offense from the original second-degree felony burglary charge. She was placed under community control for three years during immediate sentencing and received credit for three days served in jail. She was accused of trespassing on a property with the purpose to commit theft on April 6, 2023.

— Robert R. Smith, 48, last known address Hammond School Road, Wellsville, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for third-degree felony burglary, a lesser-included offense from the original second-degree felony burglary count, and misdemeanor assault. He received credit for 223 days served in jail. The prison term was ordered served consecutive to the sentence for a receiving stolen property case. During the recent hearing, Smith pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony receiving stolen property for possessing an equipment trailer which was the property of Kevin Chronister on Aug. 19, 2023. He was placed under community control for three years in that case, but also ordered to serve a term at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center until the program is successfully completed. He received credit for 134 days served in that case. He had withdrawn his previous guilty plea for the receiving stolen property charge, which the charge granted, but then entered a guilty plea again. His previous request to withdraw the previous plea for the burglary and assault charges had been denied. The burglary and assault charges stemmed from him 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.