Hyler

LISBON — The man finally caught by Salem police after being the subject of a manhunt for a domestic violence warrant and the woman he was accused of harming are both facing hearings Aug. 1.

Christopher Hyler, 33, and Chelsea Landis, 27, both of the same address in the 800 block of East Third Street, Salem, appeared via video arraignment Monday morning before Judge Tim McNicol in Columbiana County Municipal Court.

“I want an evaluation hearing,” Hyler said to the judge, who found him indigent and was assigning counsel to the case.

Hyler pleaded not guilty to the charge and when McNicol set bond at $100,000 cash or surety, he started laughing, saying “$100,000 for a misdemeanor? Are you kidding me?” He continued questioning the bond amount, commenting “I only got one domestic violence on my record.”

The case has been assigned to Judge Katelyn Dickey, with the pretrial on the first-degree misdemeanor scheduled for 1 p.m. Aug. 1.

He was ordered to have no contact with Landis and she was ordered to have no contact with Hyler. Landis was charged with a fourth-degree felony charge of obstructing justice, with a preliminary hearing set for 1 p.m. Aug. 1 and bond set at $10,000 cash or surety, for allegedly letting Hyler hide out in the residence on East Third Street after previously telling police he wasn’t there.

Salem Police and the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office both put Hyler’s photo and description on their social media pages, describing him as a violator at large who was wanted by the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. Members of the public were told to consider him dangerous and told to call police if he’s seen, but not to approach him.

Salem Police Chief J.T. Panezott said police received information Saturday that Hyler was possibly at Landis’ residence and as police were attempting to make contact at one door, Hyler came out the other door and police took him into custody, also finding some clothing there.

“Obviously he had been staying there for a couple days. We had information that the victim had been in continued communication with him,” Panezott said.

Last week, police and sheriff’s deputies had gone to her residence to check on her and she said he wasn’t there. According to an affidavit filed in county Municipal Court, she was told she could be charged with obstructing justice if she was lying to police. After his arrest, she said he had been there for a couple of days hiding out.

After being located by officers and K-9 Simon, Hyler was placed into the cruiser and allegedly injured himself intentionally to avoid going directly to jail and was turned over to deputies at the hospital. Panezott said he was banging his head off of the divider in the back of the cruiser.

According to Panezott, besides the domestic violence charge filed by Salem police, Hyler was wanted for a parole violation and had some active warrants in other counties.

The domestic violence charge stemmed from earlier this month when police were called to the Salem Public Library on July 13 for a person assaulted. The person was Landis and she allegedly identified Hyler as the person who assaulted her at the residence on East Third Street and she wanted to pursue charges. She said the abuse had been taking place since July 10 and that he fled. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

mgreier@mojonews.com