Nicholas Cunningham is shown during his arraignment hearing Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court with his attorney, Michael Kivlighan, who entered both written and oral pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity for his client. (Photo by Ed Runyan)

YOUNGSTOWN — Nicholas Cunningham, 31, of Wilcox Street in Alliance, was indicted by direct presentment to a county grand jury Dec. 7 and was arraigned Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

His attorney, Michael Kivlighan, entered written and oral pleas of not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of aggravated murder, murder, aggravated burglary and violation of a protection order in the Oct. 26 killing of Gena M. Wade, 44.

Kivlighen filed a written not guilty by reason of insanity plea Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and also entered an oral not guilty by insanity plea Tuesday.

Bond was set at $500,000 in a lower court, Kivlighen said. Judge Maureen Sweeney said she would forward the not guilty by reason of insanity plea to Judge Anthony Donofrio, who will be hearing the case and leave him to decide on whether bond should be changed.

Kivlighen told Judge Scott Hunter of Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown Nov. 23 that he was going to “investigate” whether Cunningham was able to assist in his defense and said he needed some additional time before he could determine that.

Cunningham’s case was before Hunter in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown for a preliminary hearing, but the hearing was postponed regarding the issue of Cunningham’s competency to stand trial.

Yacovone said Cunningham’s case would probably be better handled as a direct presentment to a county grand jury so that the issues regarding Cunningham’s competency could be addressed. A direct presentment does not require a lower court to bind the case over to the grand jury, so there was no additional hearing in Austintown.

Wade received a civil stalking protection order against Cunningham March 31 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court after she requested one, alleging Cunningham was “targeting my 12-year-old niece, and he is a convicted sex offender.” Wade alleged that Cunningham had threatened her and her mother “almost every day”on his Facebook page.

According to the Ohio sex offender database, Cunningham is a tier 2 sex offender who used the alias “Saphire” Cunningham.

He is classified a sex offender because he was convicted in November 2015 of sexual battery with a sexual motivation in Stark County Common Pleas Court. He was convicted at the same time of gross sexual imposition of a victim under age 13 with sexual motivation.

According to Stark County Common Pleas Court records, Cunningham was indicted on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition in March 2015. In October 2015, he pleaded no contest to sexual battery and gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2015.

According to an appeals court document, Cunningham’s convictions were for incidents from 2010 between Cunningham and a victim younger than 13.