Common Pleas

New Cases

Lakeview Loan Servicing LLC, Virginia Beach, Va., vs. Raistlin Curtis, Prospect Street, Salem, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Prospect Street, Salem property.

Chad Rose Sr., McCracken Road, Salem, vs. Chappell & Zimmerman Inc., Salem, and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; appeal sought of claim denial.

Adam Fill, Canfield, et al. vs. Nina Ricker, Woodville Road, Leetonia; damages sought for claims from 2024 traffic crash.

Bruner Land Company Inc., Byesville, vs. Derrick Coram, Buffalo, N.Y., et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Columbiana County property.

Kyle Lykens, East Third Street, Salem, vs. American Standard, South Ellsworth Avenue, Salem, and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; appeal sought of claim denial.

Docket Entries

Tax Ease OH II LLC vs. Don Tomlin, et al.; complaint dismissed.

MEB Loan Trust VIII vs. Michael Hetric, et al.; complaint dismissed.

M&T Bank vs. Ethan Dilworth, et al.; mortgage foreclosure ordered for Center Township property.

Velocity Investments LLC vs. Robert Williams; $16,477 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Planet Home Lending LLC vs. Kristina Briden, et al.; case dismissed.

CNJ Construction LLC vs. Moreno Concrete LLC, et al.; $39,898 judgment granted to plaintiff against defendants Sampson & Sons Concrete LLC and Moreno Concrete LLC jointly and severally.

Timothy Henry and Cheyenne Henry; dissolution granted.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a pretrial was set Oct. 20 for Dalton Murphy, 22, Duke Vodrey Road, East Liverpool, charged with domestic violence for allegedly grabbing a woman to take her phone and shoes off on Aug. 11 in St. Clair Township and also threatening her via telephone.

Tom Goehring, 58, West Main Street, East Palestine, was fined $250 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 175 days suspended and credit for one day served, leaving a balance of four days still to serve for cruelty to animals. He was ordered to complete 50 hours community service and is not permitted to have companion animals. Goehring was accused of failing to properly care for a small terrier found in a yard in East Palestine and taken to a vet hospital by police, who learned the dog was emaciated and dehydrated and suffered from other conditions of neglect on Sept. 3, 2024.

Melanie Gorby, 41, state Route 170, Negley, was fined $600 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended and credit for two days served, leaving a balance of 28 days to serve for criminal mischief, criminal damaging and aggravated menacing. She was ordered to complete 40 hours community service. She was ordered to make restitution of $6,795 to the victim. On April 14 in Perry Township, she was accused of sneaking onto a property then driving back to the property to intentionally cause several thousand dollars in property damage. She intentionally backed into an attached garage twice, causing $3,092 worth of damage to the structure and $1,918 worth of damage to a vehicle inside. She also smashed all the windows out of the victim’s vehicle with a blunt object, causing $1,784 damage.

A status conference hearing was set Aug. 25 and a court trial was set Sept. 4 for Kirk Price, 57, Grimms Bridge Road, East Liverpool, charged with misdemeanors of theft, violation of a protection order and criminal mischief. The violation of a protection order charge was originally a felony. Price was accused of allegedly showing up to retrieve belongings at a protected person’s property when she was still there on March 24 and took the cell phone that she had just bought for work and was sending harassing text messages to her. He also allegedly stabbed a woman’s truck tire on Jan. 29 in East Liverpool after threatening her.

Edward C. Holcomb, 38, Akron, was fined $800 and given a suspended 180-day jail term for two counts of possessing criminal tools, with one amended from engaging in prostitution. He was ordered to complete an online prostitution prevention course and $240 was ordered forfeited to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Holcomb was accused of requesting sexual conduct for an agreed upon price of $240 from an undercover agent, then drove to Salem on May 16 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Derica Barnett, 36, Chester Avenue, Wellsville, was fined $250 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for theft. She was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and a theft prevention course and to stay out of Calcutta Walmart. Barnett failed to scan and pay for 14 items totaling $89 at the Calcutta Walmart on Oct. 19, 2022.

Charges of storage of tires, litter and storage of furniture were all dismissed against David Dopler, 82, Valley Drive, East Liverpool, at the request of the city of East Liverpool, with a notation that Dopler was now in compliance. He had been accused of having piles of junk, debris, tires and indoor furniture outside at a Riverview Street, East Liverpool property on April 15.

Chelsea Lacey, no age listed, Ohio Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $500 each for four counts of failure to pay city income tax and two counts of failure to file city income tax return, with all of the fines suspended on the condition that Lacey complies with the payment plan and timely files all future returns. She was accused of failing to include payment for East Liverpool city income taxes from 2019 through 2022 and failing to file East Liverpool city income tax returns in 2023 and 2024

Joshua McIlvain, 42, Miller Road, Lisbon, was fined $975 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for operating a vehicle impaired and marked lanes. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His driver’s license was suspended fro one year, with driving privileges granted. He was ordered to complete 35 hours community service.

Alysia Hall, 35, Blakely Street, East Liverpool, was fined $875 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for OVI. A tinted glass charge was dismissed. Her driver’s license was suspended for one year, with driving privileges granted, and she was ordered to complete 25 hours community service.

David Copestick Jr., 51, Sanford Street, East Liverpool, was fined $925 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for OVI and improper backing. His driver’s license was suspended for one year, with driving privileges granted, and he was ordered to complete 35 hours community service.

Christopher Ullman, 53, Bacon Avenue, East Palestine, was fined $650 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 157 days suspended, leaving five days to serve in jail and 18 days of electronically monitored house arrest, for OVI and improper backing. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His driver’s license was suspended for two years. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service.

Scott Johns, 45, Creek Road, New Waterford, was fined $1,125 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 87 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for OVI, a turn signal violation and driving under suspension. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His driver’s license was suspended for 365 days, with driving privileges granted, and he was ordered to complete 20 hours community service.

Tanner Bean, 29, Pearl Street, Leetonia, was fined $1,075 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 174 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, with three days still to serve for OVI, registration expired, lane violation and no valid license. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His driver’s license was suspended for 365 days, with driving privileges granted, and $500 of the fine was suspended. He was ordered to complete 30 hours community service.

A pretrial was set Nov. 4 for Richard Beadnell, 61, Washington Street, Salineville, charged with driving under suspension and prohibited operation on roadway.

A pretrial was set Oct. 28 for Christy Rohn, 33, Benton Road, Salem, charged with driving under suspension and driving while texting.

A pretrial was set Oct. 28 for Samara Brooks, 28, Vienna, charged with speeding.

A pretrial was set Nov. 20 for Tyler Warner, 34, East Oregon Avenue, Sebring, charged with driving under suspension and use of unauthorized plate.

A pretrial was set Oct. 2 for Eryck Fletcher, 53, Youngstown, charged with no license.

Charles Hilditch, 64, Lang Street, East Liverpool, was fined $250 and given a suspended 60-day jail term for failure to stop after an accident. His driver’s license was suspended for 180 days.

Brett Goughnour, 51, Shadyside, was fined $100 for open container.

Andrew Smith, 38, Beard Road, New Waterford, was fined $600 and given a suspended 180-day jail term for failure to stop after an accident and reasonable control. He was ordered to complete 25 hours community service and a defensive driving course. His driver’s license was suspended for 180 days, with driving privileges granted.

Dallas Stewart, 28, Baxter Street, East Liverpool, was fined $400 for failure to stop after an accident and driving under suspension. His driver’s license was suspended for 180 days, with driving privileges granted, and restitution of $400 was ordered paid.

Frederick Kirby, 49, 13th Street, Wellsville, was fined $50 for expired license and a window tint violation.

Alexi Mendoza, 40, Hazleton, Pa., was fined $150 for an equipment violation amended from speeding.

Brody Herman, 20, Youngstown, was fined $50 for an equipment violation amended from speeding.

Willie Towler, 79, Canton, was fined $20 for reasonable control and no seat belt.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Two men accused of soliciting others and conspiring with others to bring drugs into the Columbiana County jail were served recently with secret indictments for felony charges.

William Barrett, 44, Grant Street, Lisbon, and Joseph DeSarro, 31, last known address Cadmus Street, East Liverpool, were each charged with two counts of complicity in the commission of an offense, a third-degree felony, with one count dealing with them soliciting or procuring other people to bring the drugs into the jail and the other count dealing with conspiring with others to bring the drugs in.

The dates of the offenses were April 22-April 24 this year, according to the indictments.

Also served with secret indictments were:

— Robert Mack, 46, Ohio Avenue, Salem, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing methamphetamine on May 22, 2024.

— Caleb Haggard, 22, McKinnon Avenue, East Liverpool, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing fentanyl on Feb. 14.

Court News

LISBON — A Steubenville man accused of preparing marijuana for sale and arranging a sex-for-hire meeting in East Palestine entered guilty pleas recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court as part of a plea deal.

James R. Lemmon, 42, pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony trafficking in marijuana and misdemeanor engaging in prostitution, with sentencing set for Oct. 20. Charges of fourth-degree felony attempt to commit an offense and misdemeanor possessing criminal tools were dismissed.

Lemmon was accused of responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual acts with a female in exchange for drugs, traveling to East Palestine on Nov. 25, 2024 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession. He also allegedly possessed 14 individually packaged baggies of marijuana at the scene and on Nov. 27, 2024 he allegedly contacted a woman to factory reset his cell phone and walked her through the steps to do it, which was considered an attempt to tamper with evidence.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Ciara White, 25, Campbell Road, Hanoverton, pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for Oct. 20. White possessed methamphetamine on Jan. 27, 2024.

— Raymond Briskey, also known as Mitch, 39, Youngstown, pleaded guilty to three fifth-degree felony counts of trafficking in drugs, a lesser-included offense, with sentencing set for Oct. 24. The charges were originally fourth-degree felonies. He was accused of selling or attempting to sell less than 5 grams of cocaine and less than 1 gram of heroin on Dec. 22, 2025 and less than 5 grams of cocaine on Jan. 26, 2016.

— Alan Jakes Jr., 44, Main Street, Wellsville, pleaded guilty to attempted having weapons while under disability, a lesser-included fourth-degree felony offense. Sentencing was set for Oct. 10. He was originally charged with third-degree felony having weapons while under disability. Jakes was accused of possessing a weapon on April 2, 2022 while prohibited from having one due to a felony conviction.

— Alysha Fairbanks, 35, state Route 45, Lisbon, was placed under community control for three years for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing methamphetamine on July 16, 2023.

— Phillip Cline, 51, Prospect Street, Salem, was placed under community control for three years after pleading guilty to trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, a fourth-degree felony. He received credit for two days served in jail. Cline was accused of trespassing in a property on April 29.