Common Pleas

New Cases

Rhonda Tomas, East Euclid Avenue, Salem, and Sebastian Tomas, Hawley Avenue, Salem; dissolution sought.

Thomas and Dorothy Sniezek, both Stone Castle Trail, Salem, vs. Mark and Caitlin Spillan, both Stone Castle Trail, Salem; damages sought or remedial measures for claims of trespass, nuisance and negligence related to alleged excess storm water damage from alteration of Spillan property by allegedly increasing the elevation and excess removal of vegetation leading to unreasonable flow of water onto Sniezek property.

Charlene Makowiecki, Boring Lane, East Liverpool, vs. Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; appeal of claim denial.

Tary Gilbert, McCann Road, Kensington, vs. Heritage Cooperative Inc., et al., Delaware, and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, Columbus; appeal of claim denial for additional condition.

Docket Entries

Credit Acceptance Corp. vs. Barbara Chace; $15,130 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Joshua Fiest vs. Brandi Hancock; case settled and dismissed.

Court News

LISBON — A Pennsylvania man caught in a sex for hire sting in 2023 was found not currently competent or able to understand the nature and objective of the legal proceedings against him.

The recent decision in the case against Steven R. Stark, 46, New Milford, Pa., by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam was based on a competency evaluation by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio.

The court found a reasonable probability that with appropriate treatment Stark could be restored to competency to stand trial within the six months permitted by the state, ordering the least restrictive treatment available considering public safety and his treatment needs related to restoration, with outpatient weekly psychoeducational services through the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio.

Last September, Stark entered a guilty plea to attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, a fifth-degree felony. Charges of third-degree felony compelling prostitution, fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools and misdemeanor engaging in prostitution were to be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

He was originally scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 19, 2024, but the hearing was continued until Jan. 10, then continued again until March 6, when the competency evaluation was ordered.

Stark was accused of responding to a posted undercover ad of an adult female and 15-year-old female on a known prostitution website and arranging to have sexual conduct with both females in exchange for $320, then arriving in East Palestine on Aug. 7, 2023 for the meeting where he was met by police.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Ashley Bable, 38, Avondale Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two counts of complicity in the commission of an offense, a third-degree felony, and fifth-degree felonies of aggravated possession of drugs, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, possession of heroin and two counts possession of drugs. Sentencing was set for July 10. Two counts of fifth-degree felony complicity in the commission of an offense will be dismissed. The indictment alleged that Bable and two others conspired and participated in a scheme to get narcotics into the jail and also conspired to obtain illegal narcotics to sneak into the jail on Sept. 12, 2024 and Sept. 13, 2024. On Sept. 13, 2024, Bable possessed methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, buprenorphine and xylazine.

— Billie Thompson, 43, Canfield, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of LSD and aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies, and third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs. The 18 months was ordered served consecutively to a 24-month prison term she’s already been serving since April 2024 for illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, a third-degree felony, for trying to bring drugs onto the grounds of the county jail on June 10, 2023. As part of the sentence issued Monday, a charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs will be dismissed. She also received a mandatory fine of $5,000. Thompson was accused of possessing methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than bulk but less than five times bulk on June 26, 2023 and possessing LSD and methamphetamine on July 18, 2023.

— Justin Lake, 28, Depot Road, Salem, was sentenced to nine months in prison for violating the terms of his probation for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and misdemeanor possession of drugs, with credit for 143 days already served. His participation in drug court was terminated. Lake possessed methamphetamine and buprenorphine on Aug. 7, 2021.

— Courtney Orr, 34, state Route 45, Leetonia, was sentenced for charges from two separate indictments, including third-degree felony strangulation, misdemeanor domestic violence and fifth-degree felony unauthorized use of a vehicle. Orr was placed under community control for three years, but also ordered to serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Lisbon. She was accused of grabbing a female relative’s arms and shoulders and placing her hands around her throat and pushing her during an altercation April 3, 2024 in Salineville, causing the victim to have trouble breathing and to fear for her life and safety. The unauthorized use of a vehicle charge stemmed from Orr using a 2021 Jeep Gladiator without the permission of the owner from March 12, 2024 to March 13, 2024.

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

— Taylor Thrasher, 26, Main Street, Wellsville, was placed under community control for three years and ordered to serve 30 days in the county jail for complicity in the commission of an offense, a third-degree felony. The indictment said Thrasher conspired with a man to obtain items from Walmart, place controlled substances inside them and provide them to another person for delivery into the county jail.