Common Pleas

New Cases

Campbell Family Land, LLC, Georgetown Road, Homeworth, vs. Quality Oil and Gas Corp., Canton; declaration sought that oil and gas lease expired, null and void.

KeyBank, NA, Brooklyn, vs. Andrew McKarns, Fink Road, Kensington, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought.

Farmers National Bank of Canfield, Canfield, vs. William Stanley Jr., Valley Road, Salem, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought.

Docket Entries

Britton Palmer and Heather Willochell; dissolution granted.

Courtney Gilbert and David Gilbert; dissolution granted.

Ohio Edison Company vs. Jessika Watkins; case settled and dismissed.

County Treasurer vs. David Jones, et al.; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

Grand Jury

LISBON — An East Liverpool man accused of selling drugs was served Thursday with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for multiple trafficking counts.

Devon Jones, also known as Bryon or Byron, 32, St. Clair Avenue, was charged with three counts of trafficking in heroin and three counts of trafficking in fentanyl-related counts, both fourth-degree felonies, and three counts of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony. The charges involved heroin and fentanyl, both in amounts equal or greater than 1 gram but less than 5 grams, and Xylazine in an amount less than bulk on July 10, 2023, July 14, 2023 and July 25, 2023.

Court News

LISBON — An East Liverpool man already serving more than four and half years in prison was sentenced to an additional nine months for a drug charge.

Todd Hawthorne, 42, Garner Avenue, East Liverpool entered a guilty plea in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony for possessing methamphetamine on Sept. 7, 2023. He also received a mandatory fine of $5,000.

The prison term was ordered served consecutive to the prison terms he’s already serving for two other cases.

He had been sentenced to an indefinite term of four to six years for a second-degree felony charge of aggravated possession of drugs, plus an additional six months for fourth-degree felony receiving stolen property for possessing a stolen motorcycle on Aug. 24, 2023 in East Liverpool, along with possessing methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than five times bulk but less than 50 times bulk.

In another case, he was sentenced to an indefinite sentence of two to three years for a second-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs with a forfeiture specification for money from a drug case and an additional 12 months for third-degree felony tampering with evidence. The charges stemmed from an alleged incident on Sept. 17, 2022 involving $250 and an amount of methamphetamine equal to or exceeding 5 times the bulk amount, but less than 50 times the bulk amount. He was ordered to forfeit the $250 and received a mandatory fine of $7,500.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Charles Patton, 42, Mingo Junction, was sentenced to nine months in prison after pleading guilty to attempted felonious assault, a third-degree felony lesser included offense. He received credit for three days already served in jail. Patton was originally charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for knowingly causing serious physical harm to a person on May 31, 2022.

— Travis Mayle, 35, Paris, was found competent to stand trial and pleaded guilty to third-degree felony failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, a misdemeanor. Charges of tampering with evidence and resisting arrest were dismissed. Mayle was then sentenced to 365 days in the county jail, with credit for 354 days already served, leaving a balance of 11 days to serve in jail. He also received a mandatory fine of $375 and his license was suspended for up to three years. The charges all stemmed from an incident on Nov. 13, 2022 when he allegedly resisting being handcuffed during his arrest by a trooper after an alleged pursuit while impaired.

— Jerry McElhaney, 30, Hookstown, Pa., was placed on probation for one year after pleading guilty to a lesser included offense of attempted possession of cocaine, a misdemeanor. He was originally indicted for a fifth-degree felony charge of possession of cocaine for allegedly possessing cocaine on Oct. 29, 2021.

— Joshua Watkins, 36, Eighth Avenue, East Liverpool, had his probation continued until Feb. 25, 2026, but now must serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville after violating the terms of his probation for drug charges in two separate indictments, including two counts aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and possessing drug abuse instruments, a misdemeanor. Watkins possessed methamphetamine on July 25, 2021 and May 18, 2021, along with a drug abuse instrument on July 25, 2021.

Municipal

A preliminary hearing was set for Sept. 5 for a East Liverpool man, charged with felony-four domestic violence and felony-five strangulation recently in Columbiana County Municipal Court. Joseph Jolly, 38, Dunn Road, allegedly pushed a female at his residence into a mirror and later strangled her on Aug. 29.

A pretrial was set Oct. 29 for Kenneth Payne, 50, Canton, charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. Payne allegedly agreed to exchange $260 for sexual activity with an undercover agent and traveled to Salem to do so on Aug. 29

A pretrial was set Dec. 5 for Jessica Hill, West Wilson Street, Salem, charged with theft. Hill and another female allegedly stole two laundry carts and a metal stool from the Salem Laundry Room on State Street on Aug. 18. The total value of the items taken was $700.

A pretrial hearing was set Sept. 5 for Justin Gamble, 32, Bates Street, East Liverpool, charged with criminal damaging. Gamble allegedly threw a rock through a window of a vehicle at an East Liverpool residence. Gamble was reportedly caught on video throwing the rock.

A pretrial hearing was set Sept. 16 for Christian Bell, 29, Youngstown, charged with assault. Bell allegedly threw a rock and struck a man who was walking his dog on Ravine Street in East Liverpool on Aug. 22 after the two argued.

A pretrial hearing was set Dec. 3 for Desieree Levine, 58, charged with theft. Levin alledgely placed items into a bag at the self-checkout without scanning them at the Lisbon Dollar General on Aug. 24.

A pretrial hearing was set for Nov. 5 for Eric Wilson, 57, Dresden Ave., East Liverpool, charged with domestic violence. Wilson allegedly punched a female at his residence with a closed fist. Officers observed bruising and a small cut on the victim’s chin after responding to the East Liverpool home on Aug. 29.

A pretrial hearing was set Oct. 31 for Steven Beaver, 48, Saint George Street, East Liverpool, charged with criminal damaging. Beaver, who accompanied a female on Aug. 25 to retrieve her belongings from a city residence, allegedly refused to leave the property and later admitted to kicking in and damaging the rear door.

A pretrial was set Sept. 9 for Brandon Shaffer, 28. Wood Alley, Washingtonville, charged with domestic violence. Shaffer allegedly threw a female into a wall (damaging the drywall) and choked her on Aug 26. The victim reportedly locked herself and her toddler son in a bedroom and Shaffer fled before officers arrived on the scene.

A pretrial hearing was set Dec. 3 for Muhamad Khan, 55, Youngstown, charged with speeding.

Robert Kennedy, 26, Avon Road, Salineville, was fined $200 for driving under suspension.

Rebecca Benedict, 59, was fined $925 and sentenced to 60 days in jail with 57 suspended and credit for three days served for OVI and reasonable control.

William Cunning, 47, Leake Street, East Palestine. was fined $100 for driving under suspension.

A pretrial hearing was set Dec. 3 for Maxwell Hyatt-Baney, 20, Wampum, Pa., charged with speed