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Common Pleas
NEW CASES
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Rexford E. Mays II, Samuel Street, East Liverpool, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Samuel Street, East Liverpool property.
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. El Venture Investments LLC, Summit Street, East Liverpool; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Avondale Street, East Liverpool property.
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Donald Leroy Johnson III, Glenn Street, East Liverpool, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Glenn Street, East Liverpool property.
Barry S. Weigle II, McClure Road, East Palestine, vs. Ann L. Weigle, McClure Road, East Palestine; divorce sought.
Darcy L. Wilson, Sprucevale Road, East Liverpool, vs. Corey S. Wilson, New Castle, Pa.; divorce sought.
NewRez LLC, Greenville, S.C., vs. Aaron HE James, West Martin Street, East Palestine, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for West Martin Street, East Palestine property.
Midfirst Bank, Oklahoma City, Okla., vs. Jack Smalley, state Route 172, East Rochester, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Columbiana County property.
DOCKET ENTRIES
Ally Bank vs. Victoria Hoon, et al.; $22,453 judgment granted to plaintiff, plus $1,017 finance charges and $424 late charges.
Grand Jury
LISBON -- Tyler Bartley, 29, New Brighton, Pa., 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 April 4, 2025.
Court News
LISBON -- An East Liverpool man accused of beating and kicking another man unconscious was found not capable of understanding the criminal case against him and ordered into treatment to restore competency.
Marcus Lee White, 44, Mulberry Street, had been ordered evaluated for competency and sanity by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio.
During a recent hearing in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, it was revealed that the report found he was not capable of understanding the nature and objective of the proceeding against him and not capable of presently assisting in his defense due to his present mental condition.
It was also found that he could be restored to competency within the timeframe allowed by law.
He was ordered to undergo treatment at the Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon, in effect for one year.
White was charged earlier this year with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and misdemeanor domestic violence for allegedly striking another man in the head multiple times with both punches and kicks which rendered him unconscious at the time police and EMS arrived in East Liverpool on March 25.
Also in Common Pleas Court:
-- A motion to suppress evidence related to the search of his cell phone and his vehicle was denied in the case against Paskal Nkumba, 27, Windsor Mill, Md., who's charged with fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs, third-degree felony tampering with evidence and misdemeanors of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging to have sexual activity with a woman for $140, then traveling to East Palestine on Oct. 3 for the meeting. While being removed from his box truck, he allegedly deleted the message thread between himself and an agent with the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force from his cell phone that was used to make the arrangements. He also possessed suspected LSD mushrooms, also known as psilocyn. The judge found that he consented to the search of his phone at the scene when an agent with the MVHTTF asked for permission and he provided the agent with his passcode. As for the search of his vehicle, the agent said it's procedure to do an inventory search of a vehicle when it's being towed from the scene.
-- Grant Chidester, 32, Pittsburgh, Pa., pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools, fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and misdemeanor engaging in prostitution, with sentencing set for Oct. 30. A charge of third-degree felony compelling prostitution will be dismissed. Chidester was originally accused of responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website of an adult woman and a minor girl and arranging for sexual activity with both, including the minor, for $160, then traveling to East Palestine on Dec. 12, 2025 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession. He also possessed methamphetamine.
-- Stephen James McRae, 43, Davidsville, Pa., pleaded guilty to engaging in prostitution, a misdemeanor, with sentencing set for Jan. 4. Charges of third-degree felony tampering with evidence and misdemeanors of possessing criminal tools and obstructing official business will be dismissed. He was originally accused of responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website of two women and arranging for sexual activity with them in exchange for $30, then arriving in East Palestine on Oct. 31, 2025 for the meeting. He started to delete the texting application he was using and not exiting the vehicle.
-- Michael TA Morris, 40, Cornell Street, East Liverpool,, was placed under community control for two years after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, with credit for five days served in jail. Morris possessed cocaine on Feb. 3, 2026.
-- Ricardo Gonzalez, 36, last known address Canton, was placed under community control for two years, with credit for seven days served in jail,, for aggravated possession of drugs and possession of a fentanyl-related compound, both fifth-degree felonies. He possessed fentanyl and methamphetamine on April 17, 2026.
-- Brian Jay Hebb, 53, Burghill, was placed under community control for three years with credit for 74 days served in jail for possession of cocaine, a fourth-degree felony, and third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs. He also received a mandatory $5,000 fine. Hebb possessed 5 to 10 grams of cocaine and an amount of psilocyn equal or greater than bulk but less than five times bulk.
-- Katrina T. Clarke, 34, Moore Road, East Liverpool, was ordered to prison for nine months for violating the terms of her probation for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and misdemeanor drug paraphernalia, with credit for 11 days served in jail. Clarke possessed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia on Aug. 23, 2023.
-- Brian J. Fattler, 52, last known address Jefferson Avenue, Salem, was ordered to serve 150 days in the country jail, with credit for 55 days served, leaving a balance of 95 days still to serve for violating the terms of his probation for misdemeanor domestic violence. When he was originally sentenced, charges of third-degree felony abduction and misdemeanor unlawful restraint were dismissed. He was accused of holding a woman down against her will and not letting her go, with a knife in his hand which he put down by her side on Sept. 21, 2025 in West Township.