LISBON — The 7th District Court of Appeals recently upheld the conviction of Elvin EJ Tisdale, who was sentenced last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing Brycen Douglas in 2021.

The ruling said Elvin EJ Tisdale received a fair trial, with the appellate court overruling all six errors claimed by the defense and affirming the trial court’s judgment.

The six assignments of error raised arguments dealing with suppression, speedy trial, prosecutorial misconduct, confrontation clause, ineffective assistance of counsel and cumulative error.

The first claim said the trial court erred in failing to suppress the defendant’s Verizon cell phone records which he claimed were unlawfully seized, focusing on the fact that the search warrant was issued by an East Liverpool Municipal Court judge outside of the court’s jurisdiction due to the records being held in another state. Both the trial court and appellate court disagreed with the arguments made and also made note of the state’s argument that “even if the cell location data was subject to suppression, the admission was harmless due to the overwhelming other evidence against (the defendant).”

The appellate court also disagreed with the arguments for ineffective counsel and failing to dismiss for denial of the right to a speedy trial. The appellate court said there was no error by defense counsel and also pointed to the various motions filed by the defense which extended the time before trial and required continuances of the trial date. Claims related to prosecutorial misconduct, citing what was said during closing arguments, of violations of the confrontation clause related to a detective confirming his conclusions with a software company official and claims of cumulative error were all overruled.

On Thursday this week, the attorney representing Elvin EJ Tisdale for the appeal filed a motion to certify conflict, requesting the 7th District Court of Appeals to certify the conflict for resolution by the Ohio Supreme Court. He claimed the judgment of the 7th District Court of Appeals related to the search warrant issued by the municipal court for a location outside its jurisdiction was a constitutional violation and conflicted with the judgment of the 2nd District Court of Appeals in two other cases.

A jury found Tisdale guilty on all counts in 2025 for aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, both with findings for use of a firearm, and third-degree felony having weapons while under disability. Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Megan Bickerton issued the life sentence for two murder charges which merged for sentencing, plus an additional mandatory three years for the firearm specification and an additional 36 months or three years for the having weapons under disability charge related to being prohibited from having or using a gun due to a previous felony conviction for drugs. For a separate drug case, she also sentenced him to 10 months in prison for a 2024 fifth-degree felony charge of aggravated possession of drugs for possessing methamphetamine while he was in jail for the murder case.

The victim in the case, Brycen Douglas, was just 20 years old at the time of his death and was sitting on a porch with some friends in East Liverpool’s east end when Tisdale and another shooter walked between two houses across the street and opened fire on the porch, hitting Douglas.

Three other defendants were also indicted for the murder, with Allen Tisdale, 26, serving at least 10 years in prison after testifying in the trial against EJ. He entered a guilty plea in May 2025 to involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, and complicity to improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, a second-degree felony. He was the lookout during the shooting.

The man identified as the driver, Travis W. Kidder, 26, Bradshaw Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty earlier this year to amended charges of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, along with a charge of obstructing justice, with sentencing set for 9:20 a.m. Oct. 19. As part of the deal, he must testify in the case against the second alleged shooter in the case, Curtis D. Holland, 30, also of East Liverpool.

Holland was charged last year with aggravated murder and murder, both unclassified felonies, a third-degree felony of having weapons while under disability and two firearm specifications. He has a status hearing set for 11:30 a.m. Aug. 6, with a jury trial set to begin Oct. 5.

Both Kidder and Holland remain jailed under $1 million cash or surety bonds.