Man who allegedly rammed police vehicles in arranged drug deal one of 22 open indictments by grand jury

LISBON --A man who allegedly rammed vehicles containing four East Palestine police officers when he arrived for an arranged drug deal was issued an indictment this week.

Micah Ronald Barnes, 27, Pittsburgh, Pa., was one of 22 defendants openly indicted by the Columbiana County Grand Jury, which met for two days. The grand jury also issued 27 secret indictments and one superseding indictment.

The charges against Barnes included four counts of felonious assault, a first-degree felony, second-degree felony trafficking in cocaine, third-degree felonies of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and having weapons while under disability, fourth-degree felony vandalism and fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools.

According to the police affidavit, Barnes arrived on Feb. 18, 2026 in East Palestine after arranging to bring and sell cocaine to the undercover officer using his cell phone to make the arrangements. He arrived for the delivery and his vehicle was boxed in by three police vehicles.

He rammed the vehicles in an attempt to get out, fled the scene, wrecked his vehicle and fled on foot, the affidavit said. A loaded 9mm handgun was inside the vehicle and he's allegedly barred from having a weapon due to a previous conviction. Two phones were also in the vehicle used for felony drug transactions. He was located in the woods after fleeing. The amount of cocaine he attempted to sell was between 20 and 27 grams.

A superseding indictment was issued against Sarah C. Mullins, 32, Carbon Hill Road, East Palestine, who had already been secretly indicted for multiple drug charges. The two new charges on the indictment include misdemeanors of illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, OVI. The other charges on the indictment include third-degree felony possession of a fentanyl-related compound, fourth-degree felonies of possession of heroin and possession of cocaine, fifth-degree felonies of two counts aggravated possession of drugs and misdemeanor possession of drugs for allegedly possessing 5 to 10 grams of fentanyl and cocaine, 1 to 5 grams of heroin, methamphetamine and MDMA on Nov. 28, 2025.

Also served with open indictments were:

-- John L. Turner Jr., 22, Maple Avenue, Wellsville, first-degree felony aggravated burglary and misdemeanors of aggravated menacing, domestic violence, criminal damaging or endangering, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and endangering children. On Aug. 11 in Wellsville, he allegedly threatened to harm three people, then assaulted a woman and in the process struck a child who was taken to Akron Children's Hospital after he allegedly broke into a residence on Maple Avenue and damaged a door. He resisted officers when placed under arrest and had to be taken to the ground.

-- Austin R. Lemasters, 29, Malone Road, Salineville, two counts second-degree felony burglary, fifth-degree felonies of theft from a person in protected class, theft and two counts possessing criminal tools for allegedly prying open the kitchen window to a state Route 39, Wellsville property on Aug. 5, crawling inside and stealing $75 in cash from an upstairs desk drawer and then returning to the same property on Aug. 16 and stealing checks. Security cameras captured him crawling in the window and he was positively identified by his facial tattoos and stature by the victim, who knew him from prior interactions as a former employee.

-- Jordan Michael Franklin, 31, Main Street, Wellsville, second-degree felony felonious assault, third-degree felonies of domestic violence and abduction and fourth-degree felony strangulation for allegedly punching a woman in the face an unknown number of times, causing a broken nose and other injuries, restraining her liberty and grabbing her by the neck on Aug. 15 in East Liverpool, with three prior domestic violence convictions on his record.

-- Darodd L. Paige, 54, Franklin Avenue, Salem, two counts felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and third-degree felony domestic violence for allegedly throwing a woman into a wall, striking her in the face with his fist and striking her in the back with a baseball bat on Aug. 16 in Salem, with six previous convictions for domestic violence on his record.

-- Lee La Mar, 40, Youngstown, fourth-degree felonies of assault and trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present and fifth-degree felony attempted grand theft of a motor vehicle for allegedly assaulting an EMT and attempting to steal a LifeTeam ambulance in Wellsville on Aug. 20. An affidavit alleged he unbuckled himself from the cot, ripped a chunk of hair from the EMT's head before the EMTs ran out of the ambulance and then he climbed into the front seat and attempted to steal the ambulance. He was unsuccessful due to an anti-theft device. He then chased the EMTs down the road before pushing his way through the door of a residence on Main Street in Wellsville and was caught by police.

-- Wayne K. Ayers Jr., 59, Main Street, Leetonia, third-degree felony domestic violence for allegedly pushing a woman and throwing a pan at her while she was trying to get her keys, wallet and clothes when she was trying to leave the Leetonia residence on Sept. 1.

-- Vashist Gadela, 31, Erie, Pa., third-degree felonies of attempted theft from a person in a protected class and telecommunications fraud and fourth-degree felony telecommunications fraud for allegedly attempting to deprive an elderly victim of $84,440 on Aug. 6, 2026 and devising a scheme to defraud the victim from June 22, 2026 through Aug. 6, 2026 in a scam involving gold coin purchases to supposedly secure assets through a person who claimed to be from the U.S. Marshals. The victim purchased the coins and then gave them to a courier in Columbiana and in Austintown. The victim became aware of the scam, called police and then arranged to send a fake cashier's check for $84,400 to the scammer and for a pickup of gold coins on Aug. 6 in Columbiana, with police making the arrest after the drop-off.

-- Dustin James Brooks, 39, Vine Street, East Liverpool, two counts fifth-degree felony violation of a protection order and misdemeanor criminal trespass for allegedly violating the terms of a protection order by entering the property of a protected person on July 31 in East Liverpool, with three previous convictions on his record for violating a protection order.

-- Alvin W. Carnes, 42, West Washington Street, Lisbon, fourth-degree felonies of grand theft of a motor vehicle and arson, fifth-degree felony failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and misdemeanor criminal damaging or endangering for allegedly stealing a man's 2018 Buick Envision, driving away without the owner's consent on June 30 in Center Township. The indictment alleged that he fled from police and caused the vehicle to be burned, damaging the victim's property.

-- Braylen J'Brae Russell, 19, Blacklick, fourth-degree felonies of carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property, and misdemeanors of obstructing official business, falsification and drug paraphernalia for allegedly fleeing from police investigating an argument between him and a woman and possessing a stolen handgun with a loaded magazine in his pants pocket on Aug. 6 in East Liverpool. He also allegedly possessed a black scale with unknown residue and gave police a false first and last name and date of birth.

-- William Scott Santimarino, 38, Lisbon Street, Wellsville, third-degree felony failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer for allegedly fleeing from East Liverpool police attempting a traffic stop of a motorcycle on Aug. 7 in East Liverpool.

-- Charles G. Wilson, 55, Water Street, Salineville, fourth-degree felonies of disrupting public services and grand theft and fifth-degree felonies of possessing criminal tools and breaking and entering for allegedly being caught in Springhill Cemetery in Wellsville with a large amount of AT&T stolen wire in his possession along with wire cutters on Aug. 14. According to a previous affidavit, there was $25,825 worth of AT&T wire.

-- Meghan A. McElroy, 33, Maple Hill Road, Salineville, fourth-degree felonies of disrupting public services and grand theft, fifth-degree felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly running from a truck with a large amount of stolen AT&T wire from Spring Hill Cemetery and also possessing and dropping a hypodermic syringe after fleeing from the cemetery, all on Aug. 14 in Wellsville.

-- Kieran J. James, 40, Canton, fourth-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle for allegedly stealing a 2026 Chevy Silverado belonging to AWP Safety on Aug. 21.

-- Rodger L. Haney, 47, Johnstown, Pa., two counts of fourth-degree felony complicity in the commission of an offense for allegedly aiding and abetting another person in the alleged theft of AT&T wire in East Liverpool on Aug. 13.

-- Morgan L. Cox, 39, Wilson Street, Salineville, fourth-degree felonies of grand theft and disrupting public services and fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools for allegedly stealing AT&T wire in East Liverpool on Aug. 13 and being in possession of tools to use criminally.

-- Anthony J. Lopshansky, 42, Woodland Avenue, Columbiana, fourth-degree felony domestic violence and third-degree felony strangulation for allegedly placing his hands around a woman's throat and striking her in the face, causing her to fall back, then grabbing her by the throat a second time after an argument on Aug. 25 in Columbiana.

-- Thomas Price, 56, Fair Avenue, Salem, second-degree felony failure to provide notice of change of address for allegedly failing to notify the sheriff's office of a change in address as required for the sexual offender registration on Aug. 17.

-- Michael Lee Reinhold, 31, Ravine Street, East Liverpool, fourth-degree felony domestic violence and misdemeanor obstructing official business for allegedly biting a woman and hitting her eye during an altercation in a vehicle in East Liverpool on Aug. 13. During his arrest, he refused to comply with an officer's request to fingerprint him.

-- Kyrin Michael McLaughlin, 28, Rose Drive, Lisbon, fourth-degree felonies of domestic violence and strangulation for allegedly getting into a fight with a juvenile, grabbing the juvenile by the collar and choking him, throwing him on the ground and getting on top of him on Sept. 7 in Center Township.

-- Chelsea Rose Baker, 36, Laura Avenue, East Liverpool, two counts violation of a protection order, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly knocking on the door of a protected person's residence in East Liverpool on Sept. 6 and violating a protection order again on Sept. 16