Common Pleas

New Cases

Devon Smith, Opal Road, Wellsville, and Rilee Ward, Fairway Road, East Liverpool; dissolution sought.

First Financial Bank, Greensburg, Ind., vs. Richard Bailey, Trinity Church Road, Lisbon; collection sought of alleged $40,199 debt plus interest of $4,622.

Docket Entries

Jacob Clark vs. Cheyenne Clark; divorce granted.

Eli Savin vs. Jennifer Savin; divorce granted.

Michael Harrington and Melissa Harrington; dissolution granted.

Karen Merryweather vs. Scott Merryweather; divorce granted.

Manda Adkins vs. Cody Church; divorce granted.

Premier Bank vs. Z-Mac Motors, LLC; $43,840 judgment granted to plaintiff.

County Treasurer vs. Danielle Suiter; delinquent property taxes paid, case dismissed.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Secret indictments issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury and served recently included:

— Steven Moore, 43, Ravenna, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing methamphetamine on Aug. 4, 2023.

— Jennifer Eskew, 38, Pritchard Avenue, Lisbon, aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing methamphetamine on March 22, 2023.

— Joseph Messenger, 32, East Fifth Street, Salem, two counts nonsupport of dependents, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly failing to pay child support for two children from June 2, 2019 to May 30, 2021.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a pretrial was set Nov. 25 for Tom Leroy Goehring, 57, West Main Street, East Palestine, charged with cruelty to animals after East Palestine police found his dog Gracie laying in someone else’s yard unable to move and malnourished. According to the police affidavit, the dog was taken to MedVet in Girard and found to be emaciated and dehydrated among other conditions of neglect and care, with marks and scratches from a flea infestation. Goehring told police the dog had somehow gotten out of the house the night before. He was ordered to have no companion animals as a condition of bond.

A pretrial was set Dec. 17 for Nicole Hart, 38, Morris Avenue, Salem, charged with endangering children for allegedly violating a duty of care, protection or support of a child on Sept. 10 in Salem, which is when the child who is autistic and has run away multiple times was permitted to go to the park by himself. The police affidavit said Hart told an officer the boy wanted to go to the park and she did not let him, but when she spoke with dispatch on the recorded line, she said that she did let him go to the park. He was supposed to go to the playground but went in another direction. Police searched but were unable to locate him until receiving a report of a stolen golf cart at another location. Police discovered the boy took the golf cart and drove it up North Lincoln Avenue near the interchange of U.S. Route 62, driving it into a ditch.

Barbara Beverly, 64, Canal Street, Hanoverton, was fined $100 and given a suspended 30-day jail term for disorderly conduct amended from criminal damaging. She was ordered to complete 20 hours community service and to have no contact with the victim. Beverly was accused of driving her motor vehicle toward the victim as he mowed the grass near the fence, striking his lawn mower and almost striking him, causing damage to the lawn mower on May 1 in Hanoverton.

Carys Buxton, 19, Bank Street, East Liverpool, was fined $300 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 178 days suspended and credit for two days served, for falsification and disorderly conduct. She was ordered to complete 30 hours community service. Buxton was accused of providing false identifying information for another person during an incident July 3 at the Quality Inn in St. Clair Township where people were reportedly intoxicated.

A pretrial was set Nov. 25 for Jamie Lynn Miller, 49, Pancake Clarkson Road, Rogers, charged with drug paraphernalia and theft for allegedly possessing an instrument for inhaling a controlled substance during a traffic stop on Sept. 24 in East Liverpool. On Sept. 2, she allegedly took several beef jerky sticks and placed them into her purse at Lisbon Dollar General.

Mark Mercer, 58, state Route 45, Salem, was fined $200 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended and credit for one day served, for criminal trespass. He was ordered to complete 40 hours community service and to have no contact with the Frola Motel in Lisbon. Mercer was at the Frola Motel, state Route 45, Lisbon, on July 17 after being trespassed from the property previously.

Kimberly Ann Gibson, 38, New Castle, Pa., was fined $150 and given a suspended 30-day jail term for disorderly conduct amended from passing bad checks. Gibson wrote a bad check for $900 to a woman for a golden retriever on Nov. 23, 2021.

Daniel Scott Jr., 43, Warren, was fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 28 days suspended and credit for two days served, for criminal trespass. He was ordered to complete 40 hours community service and to have no contact with the victim. Scott was accused of entering a woman’s residence on Aug. 3 in Lisbon, locking the doors and falling asleep. He did not reside there and the resident had a protection order against him.

Preston Reese, 28, Artistic Drive, East Liverpool, was fined $150 and given a suspended 30-day jail term for drug paraphernalia. Reese was ordered to complete 20 hours community service. On May 8 in East Liverpool, he possessed two clear baggies with white residue inside and a burnt glass crack pipe.

Francine Shores, 60, Berlin Center, was fined $1,200 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 150 days suspended, leaving a balance of 30 days to serve in jail, for operating a vehicle impaired third offense, left of center and distracted driving. A charge of OVI breath was dismissed. Her driver’s license was suspended for five years and she was ordered to complete 80 hours community service. An issue of forfeiture of vehicle was taken under advisement by the judge.

Makayla Eckman, 21, Southeast Boulevard, Salem, was fined $500 for a stopped school bus charge.

Charges of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of marijuana were dismissed in a case against Patricia Hartline, 55, Stookesberry Road, Lisbon, who stipulated to probable cause and was ordered to pay costs.

A motion hearing was set Nov. 21 for Caleb White, 19, Clarkson Road, Rogers, charged with OVI first offense and reasonable control.

A pretrial was set Nov. 26 for Russell Crow, 67, Lincoln Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with OVI first offense, OVI breath first offense and marked lanes.

Joshua Brooks, 22, Alliance, was fined $295 and sentenced to three days in jail for driving under suspension and speeding. His driver’s license was suspended for 180 days.

Gary Hissom, 49, Hollywood Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $175 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 88 days suspended, leaving two days still to serve in jail for physical control and failure to reinstate. He was ordered to complete 20 hours community service.

Eric Shoemaker, 40, New Middletown, was fined $295 and given a suspended 30-day jail term for driving in violation of a driving restriction and following too close. He was ordered to complete 30 hours community service.

Christian Henry, 21, Salem Unity Road, Salem, was fined $180 for no valid license, no seat belt and a tail light violation. A charge of driving under suspension was dismissed.

Loren Wilson, 32, Arrow Road NW, Minerva, was fined $100 for speeding.

Jessica Combs, 33, South Beaver Street, Lisbon, was fined $200 for driving under suspension.

Heidi Rader, 59, New Brighton, Pa., was fined $20 for an equipment violation amended from speeding.

A court trial was set Dec. 17 for Donte Glover, 39, Warren, charged with improper turn.

Court News

LISBON — An East Liverpool man who admitted to multiple charges in July, including possessing a knife while under detention in 2022 and fleeing from police in April, was recently sentenced to 45 months in prison.

Ryan Blystone, 45, Claibourne Street, appeared for sentencing in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court on charges from two separate indictments and also appeared for a probation violation. The terms for each indictment were ordered served consecutive to each other and consecutive to the term for the probation violation.

For the fourth-degree felony charge of possession of deadly weapon while under detention and misdemeanor possession of drugs, he received 12 months in prison for having the knife and possessing buprenorphine on March 1, 2022.

He received an additional 18 months in prison for third-degree felony failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and misdemeanors of operating a vehicle impaired, driving under suspension and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia for charges stemming from an April 15 traffic stop attempt when Blystone accelerated at a high rate of speed and fled before crashing on state Route 267, fleeing on foot and being found in an area of brush. He had a clear glass smoking device with visible residue in his possession.

For violating his probation for charges of third-degree felony domestic violence and misdemeanor endangering children, he was ordered to serve an additional 15 months in prison. The charges stemmed from Dec. 20, 2021 when he attempted to harm a woman and put a child at risk. His probation was dishonorably terminated.

All together, that brought the sentence up to 45 months, or three years nine months.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Robert Malecki, 58, Orwell, was placed under community control for three years for fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and misdemeanors of engaging in prostitution, possessing criminal tools and drug paraphernalia. Malecki was accused of possessing 2.90 grams of methamphetamine after arriving on March 16, 2022 in East Palestine for an arranged sex-for-hire encounter. He had responded to an undercover ad on a known escort website and set up the meeting for sexual activity in exchange for $200.

— Joey-Lynn Corfee, 35, Rose Drive, Lisbon, was sentenced to another six months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing fentanyl on May 21, 2023. The newest sentence was ordered served consecutive to the 24-month prison term she received last week for third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs (originally a second-degree felony), third-degree felony possession of fentanyl-related compound, and fifth degree felonies of theft, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs. Corfee was accused of stealing $7,090 from Norfolk Southern from March 10 through March 13, 2023 when she told officials at the Norfolk Southern assistance center that she lived on Leake Street in East Palestine, providing a fake rental agreement with a fictitious landlord for the property and an altered Ohio Edison electric bill as proof of residency. Corfee possessed methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than bulk but less than five times bulk during a traffic stop in Columbiana on May 18, 2023. She also possessed fentanyl in an amount equal or greater than 5 grams but less than 10 grams, cocaine and tramadol. She possessed methamphetamine on May 4.

— Jeremy Brown, 48, 18th Street Heights, Wellsville, was placed under community control for three years for two counts nonsupport of dependents, a fourth-degree felony, for failing to pay child support for two children from May 15, 2020 to May 20, 2022. He received credit for five days served in jail.