Grand Jury

LISBON — A woman accused of stealing money from the Wellsville Youth Baseball League was served recently with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury.

Shanice N. Thompson, 33, St. George Street, East Liverpool, was charged with grand theft, a fourth-degree felony. The indictment alleged that she stole the money from Jan. 29, 2024 to May 28, 2024, with the amount of the property or services stolen ranging in value from $7,500 or more but less than $150,000.

Common Pleas

NEW CASES

County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Jay D. Pitcher, East Fourth Street, Salem; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for West State Street, Salem property.

County Treasurer, Lisbon vs. Z. Doris Newton, Lower Elkton Road, Leetonia; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Lower Elkton Road, Leetonia property.

County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Infiniti LLC, Esther Avenue, Wellsville, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Esther Avenue, Wellsville property.

State Ex Rel. Kevin J. Simballa and Kevin J. Simballa, both state Route 517, Lisbon, vs. Eric Vendel, chief Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, and Hilcorp Energy I, L.P., Columbus; ruling sought regarding compensation to plaintiff for property interest and damages sought for alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.

Lacey Saling, West Main Street, Salineville, and Christopher M. Saling, state Route 45, Wellsville; dissolution sought.

Christina N. Scranton, Austintown, and Levi Scranton, Jimtown Road, East Palestine; dissolution sought.

Rocket Mortgage, LLC, Detroit, Mich., vs. Curtis L. Crank Jr., North Indiana Avenue, Salem, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for North Indiana Avenue, Salem property.

Westlake Services, LLC, Los Angeles, Calif., vs. Jason R. Cusick, Cameron Road, Wellsville, et al.; collection sought of alleged $16,650 debt.

Jennifer Matos, Youngstown, vs. Fresh Mark, Inc., Massillon, and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; appeal of claim denial.

U.S. Bank Trust National Association, Coppell, Texas, vs. Elizabeth A. Fromm, East Eighth Street, Salem, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for East Eighth Street, Salem property.

William Kuhn, New Castle, Pa., vs. Gina Hart, Pennsylvania Avenue, East Liverpool, et al.; declaration sought regarding rights to historical water system serving 2255 Pennsylvania Avenue Extension and enforcement of easement rights, along with a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction related to plaintiff’s water access rights and damages sought.

Allen Sodergren, New Springfield, vs. Teya Metzgar, Walnut Grove Drive, New Waterford, et al.; damages sought for personal injury claim from 2024 traffic crash in Unity Township.

Belinda M. Padurean, Stookesberry Road, Lisbon, and Justin M. Padurean, New Cumberland, W.Va.,; dissolution sought.

Jerry J. Heavener, Youngstown, and Deborah Heavener, Youngstown; dissolution sought.

Selene Finance, LP, Dallas, Texas, vs. Robbin K. Nelson, South Vine Street, Columbiana, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for South Vine Street, Columbiana property.

R.E. Michel Company, LLC, Baltimore, Md., vs. R.C.I Heating LLC, state Route 518, Hanoverton, and Ronald C. Ingledue, Meister Road, Hanoverton; collection sought of alleged $7,950 debt.

Westlake Services, LLC, Los Angeles, Calif., vs. Jason Gardner, Winona Road, Salem; collection sought of alleged $12,503 debt.

DOCKET ENTRIES

U.S. Bank National Association vs. Gerald L. Lease, et al.; judgment granted to plaintiff, mortgage legal description reformed.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company vs. Jessica R. Carver, et al.; case stayed due to bankruptcy filing.

Accelerated Inventory Management, LLC vs. Lynette Earl; case stayed due to bankruptcy filing.

Kyle Lykens vs. American Standard, et al.; case settled and dismissed.

William Cunningham vs. Brian Pearl, et al.; case settled and dismissed.

PNC Bank vs. Steven Sedel; $28,818 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Cleo DeWitt vs. Tyler Burgess; divorce granted.

Joseph Bernier, doing business as Let It Roll Pizzeria, vs. estate of Vickie Lambert; tortious interference with business relationship claim denied, $3,956 judgment granted to plaintiff for breach of contract.

Capital One, N.A. vs. Cera Lockwood; case dismissed.

Clearview Federal Credit Union vs. Jacob S. Vantilburg; case dismissed.

Norma Hylton-Carr, et al. vs. Carter J. Melott; $9,142 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Hanmi Bank vs. Envelope I Inc., et al.; stay lifted, case reactivated.

Bank of America N.A. vs. David C. Fusco, et al.; foreclosure vacated, case dismissed.

County Treasurer vs. Kristin Egli, delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

County Treasurer vs. Mark A. Smith, et al.; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

WesBanco Bank, Inc. vs. Desiree R. Evans; $9,970 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Court News

LISBON — The man accused of secretly taking videos of women and girls last year in the Walmart dressing room and the Planet Fitness locker room, both in Calcutta, lost another attempt to get out of prison early.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam recently again denied the motion for judicial release filed on behalf of Shane Lee Wright, 26, Laredo Drive, Negley.

Wright was sentenced in late September 2025 to 10 months in prison for fifth-degree felony voyeurism and misdemeanor possessing criminal tools. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, he arrived in October and his expected release date isn’t until late July this year.

Washam referred to the entry he wrote in January when he denied Wright’s previous request for judicial release when he pointed out Wright wasn’t sentenced to the maximum or to consecutive terms and the sentence protects the public and punishes the defendant appropriately.

In that entry in January, he also recounted the facts of the case how there were numerous, separate unwitting female victims and Wright used his cell phone to record videos of them in various stages of undress, both in a private department store changing room and the locker room of a fitness facility. He noted what Wright had to go through to get to his vantage point looking down on the locker room.

The latest request for judicial release was filed last month.

Wright was originally charged in August 2024 in county Municipal Court with fifth-degree felony voyeurism and misdemeanors of possessing criminal tools, inducing panic and eight counts of voyeurism.

The victim in the charge for the plea was identified as a 15-year-old who should have had a reasonable expectation of privacy on Aug. 12, 2024 at Walmart in the changing room. The charge said that from Aug. 12, 2024 through Aug. 23, 2024, the day he was caught, Wright did “knowingly commit trespass or otherwise secretly or surreptitiously videotape, film, broadcast, stream or other record” the victim. The criminal tool was his cell phone.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— A New Waterford woman accused of threatening to cut another woman and then shooting at her residence two days later was sentenced to prison for at least six years with another year and a half possible.

Rebecca Lynn Simpson, 54, state Route 7, appeared for sentencing recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court before Judge Megan Bickerton.

The sentence was an indefinite term of three to four and a half years for felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and an additional three years for the firearm specification for using a weapon. A nine-month term was issued for improperly handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, but ordered served concurrently at the same time as everything else.

That brought the total to six to seven and a half years.

Charges of second-degree felony improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or a school safety zone, and misdemeanors of using weapons while intoxicated and aggravated menacing will be dismissed.

According to a police affidavit filed in county Municipal Court, Simpson contacted the other woman’s daughter to say she was going to harm her mother with a box cutter style knife on June 12, 2025. On a video sent to the other woman from her daughter, a female called “Becky” could be heard saying she was going to the residence and telling the woman her grandchild was killed so she’ll open the door, then she said she will cut the woman’s forehead with the box cutter style knife, then cut her legs, mouth and cut her tongue out.

The police affidavit for the June 14, 2025 incident in Liverpool Township said that the victim looked out the side window near her front door and saw Simpson standing outside a grey car pointing a gun at the residence in the direction where the victim was standing and then the victim heard gun shots ring out.

Officers found two spent shell casings and one live round in the driveway in the area where the grey car had been parked. One round grazed the wood trim around the top of the porch and struck the brick above the front door where the victim had been standing. The other round went through a lawn chair and struck the brick.

Simpson fled the area, but crashed her vehicle on Sprucevale Road and was taken into custody by St. Clair Township police. A 9 mm handgun was found under the driver’s seat with a live round in the chamber and additional rounds in the magazine.

— Alexzander C. Jones, 27, North Howard Avenue, Salem, was ordered to serve the remaining 184 days of the 27-month sentence he was given in 2022 for multiple charges related to sexual conduct, providing obscene materials to a juvenile and concealing evidence. He had previously been granted judicial release, but violated the terms of his probation and was sent back to prison. He entered guilty pleas in November 2021 to disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, tampering with evidence, two counts of importuning and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, all felonies, for incidents involving juveniles ages 13 and 15 last year and this year. The charges stemmed from him engaging in sexual conduct with a 13-year-old from Nov. 1, 2020 through Jan. 12, 2021, soliciting sex from a 15-year-old from Nov. 1, 2020 through Jan 12, 2021, soliciting sex from a 13-year-old on Dec. 7, 2020, sending a naked photo to a 15-year-old on Nov. 24, 2020, and trying to destroy or alter evidence on Jan. 12, 2021.

— William G. Wildman, 52, East Fourth Street, Salem, was sentenced to consecutive terms totaling 36 months or three years for two separate cases, along with receiving two fines of $5,000 each and credit for 122 days served in jail. Charges included two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanor illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs were dismissed. Wildman possessed methamphetamine on July 4, 2024 and April 12, 2025, along with drug paraphernalia on July 4, 2024.

— Tyler E. Wells, 37, Prospect Street, Salem, was sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended, leaving 30 days to serve for misdemeanor domestic violence, a lesser offense from felony domestic violence, and endangering children, a misdemeanor. He was accused of striking a juvenile in the face twice and throwing and breaking the child’s cell phone on May 26, 2025 in Leetonia. He was also placed under community control for two years.

— Kelly I. Harold-Hall, 53, Waterford Road, New Waterford, was placed under an intervention plan for 18 months after pleading guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing amphetamine on March 7, 2024.

— Albert Lynch, 46, Brunswick, was placed under community control for 18 months for fifth-degree felony obstructing official business amended from fourth-degree felony promoting prostitution. Misdemeanor engaging in prostitution was dismissed. Lynch knowingly drove a woman to Salem for a sex for hire arrangement on July 6, 2025.

— David C. Gouge, 50, McKinley Avenue, Lisbon, was placed under community control for 12 months for fourth-degree felonies of theft from a person in a protected class and misuse of credit cards. A fourth-degree felony charge of telecommunications fraud was dismissed. Gouge was accused of misusing a woman’s debit card and stealing money from her from Sept. 30, 2022 to Oct. 24, 2022. The amount stolen was $3,200.