LISBON — A Canfield man sentenced to three years in prison in March 2024 for aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault had his motion for judicial release recently denied.

Lowell Horst, 30, Lisbon Road, sought the end of his prison term, asking Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton to suspend what’s left of his sentence. The prosecution opposed judicial release and Bickerton denied the request.

The Supreme Court of Ohio also recently denied Horst’s appeal request, declining to accept jurisdiction for an appeal. Earlier this year, the Seventh District Court of Appeals denied the appeal he filed to challenge his conviction, affirming the trial court’s judgment, but with one dissenting opinion.

Horst remains incarcerated after Bickerton sentenced him on March 8, 2024 to three years in prison for aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. His driver’s license was suspended for 15 years. A jury had found him guilty.

Horst admitted to watching sports highlights on YouTube on his phone and not paying attention while driving west on state Route 172 on Sept. 22, 2023. Ohio State Highway Patrol investigators concluded his Chevy Silverado traveled left of center and collided head-on with an eastbound GMC Terrain. The driver of the GMC Terrain, Leslie Coss, 83, of Massillon, suffered serious physical injuries and his wife, Mary Coss, 81, died at the scene. Leslie Coss died a few months later.

Their daughter, Sharon Lendon, administrator of their estates, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Horst and his then employer, Weaver Steel Construction of Leetonia, that was settled and dismissed in the fall.

In the memorandum supporting the motion for judicial release, Horst’s attorney T. Robert Bricker noted that Horst had already served more than 16 months, making him eligible for judicial release. Prior to the accident, he had a minimal prior criminal record and since his incarceration, he said he has shown “exemplary behavior” and participated in every rehabilitation program available to him in prison.

He also said he has family residing locally, specifically his widowed mother, and upon his return home plans to be a productive member of society who’s gainfully employed. He said he already has a job offer and employment waiting for him upon his release.

“The defendant has experienced the severity of his incarceration and asks for probation as a tool of progressive discipline,” the memorandum said.

mgreier@mojonews.com