Court News

LISBON — A Youngstown man who attacked another man with a knife last year was sentenced to at least three years in prison to a possible four and a half years in prison for felonious assault.

Grant Michael Goodballet, 27, appeared for sentencing recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court for the second-degree felony charge. He entered a guilty plea to the charge in April. A third-degree felony charge of intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case will be dismissed.

Goodballet attacked the other man with a knife on Aug. 23, 2025 in East Liverpool and had issued a threat against the victim on Sept. 21, 2025. An affidavit said the victim was standing near a burn barrel on Bank Street, East Liverpool when he heard his attacker coming towards him, turned around and saw him running towards him while swinging two knives.

During the attack, the victim suffered a cut to his wrist and multiple knife wounds to his arms, neck, back and shoulder. In September 2025, Goodballet was accused of calling a woman and telling her the victim needed to tell police that he lied and to drop the charges or he’d kill him and his kids.

Goodballet received credit for 222 days already served in jail.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Tyler J. Corbisello, 31, 10th Street Extension, Wellsville, was sentenced to seven months in prison for possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, with credit for 34 days served in jail. Corbisello possessed fentanyl on Nov. 13, 2023.

— Sterling Anthony Henry, 27, Youngstown, withdrew a motion to suppress and pleaded guilty to fifth-degree felony obstructing official business amended from third-degree felony having weapons while under disability, with a misdemeanor obstructing official business charge to be dismissed. Sentencing was set for July 16. He possessed a loaded handgun when police took him into custody at the site of an East Liverpool property where the Columbiana County Drug Task Force was executing a search warrant on Oct. 15, 2024. Officers had taken him to the ground and a knife was found in his pocket, then he was seated on the ground and started messing with his waist band when an officer noticed the handle of a handgun under his leg. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous conviction.

— George E. Faulkner Jr., 39, state Route 14, East Palestine, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felonies of receiving stolen property and fraudulent actions concerning a VIN, and fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools. A misdemeanor criminal damaging charge will be dismissed. Sentencing was set for July 20. Faulkner possessed a stolen Jeep in Perry Township on July 24, 2025. A police affidavit said an officer noticed a recently painted blue Jeep matching a white Jeep that was reported stolen with a Pennsylvania plate parked in front of a Prospect Street, Salem apartment. The officer confirmed the vehicle was stolen and observed the vin to be covered with tape. The keys to the vehicle were found in the defendant’s pants pocket.

— Donald W. Lewis, 47, state Route 45, Lisbon, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony failure to provide notice of change of address, a lesser-included offense from the original second-degree felony charge, for failing to report moving on Sept. 25, 2025 for the sex offender registration. Sentencing was set July 20.

— Lindsay K. Buzzard, 38, Fisher Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, and illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility, a third-degree felony, for possessing fentanyl and trying to bring drugs onto a detention facility property on Aug. 8, 2024. Sentencing was set for Aug. 6.

— Jeffrey W. Burgos II, 35, Wellington, pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony, with sentencing set for July 20. He possessed methamphetamine on May 13, 2025.

— Brady Carpenter, 18, Sherman Street, Lisbon, was placed under community control for 12 months after pleading guilty to prosecutor’s information for a misdemeanor charge of telephone harassment. A jail sentence of 180 days was suspended. Carpenter was harassing someone via electronic device on Feb. 3, 2026.

–Romello Shamone Edison, 27, West Sixth Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer for allegedly failing to move over for emergency lights on state Route 39 and fleeing from police who attempted a traffic stop, accelerating and losing control, with the vehicle sliding sideways and coming to rest in an empty gravel lot on Nov. 2, 2025 in East Liverpool. Sentencing was set for July 24.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Carly A. Brunie, 35, Roosevelt Avenue, Salem, was served Tuesday with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for second-degree felonies of aggravated trafficking in drugs and aggravated possession of drugs and fifth-degree felonies of possession of heroin, possession of a fentanyl-related compound and two counts of possession of drugs for allegedly preparing for sale and possessing methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than five times bulk but less than 50 times bulk and for possessing heroin, fentanyl, xylazine and tramadol, all on Oct. 20, 2024.

Common Pleas

NEW CASES

Kimberly J. Jones, Negley, vs. William Howard Jones, Johns Avenue, East Liverpool; divorce sought.

American Express National Bank, Independence, vs. Sean Barker, Stanley Drive, Beloit; collection sought of alleged $7,946 debt.

Capital One, N.A., Independence, vs. Kaycee D. Caldrone, state Route 45, Wellsville; collection sought of alleged $4,717 debt.

Capital One, N.A., Independence, vs. Kyle Sammons, Heritage Drive, Beloit; collection sought of alleged $1,521 debt.

Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC, Buffalo, N.Y., vs. Suzanne A. Diekmann, West Main Street, Washingtonville, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Columbiana County property.

Ford Motor Credit Company LLC, Colorado Springs, Colo., vs. David Wolfe, Miller Road, Leetonia, et al.; collection sought of alleged $11,569 debt.

Randy A. Dean and Jeri Renee Dean, individually and as husband and wife, state Route 45, Lisbon, vs. Robert Blaze Wagner, Erie, Pa. and Erie Insurance Company, Erie, Pa.; damages sought for alleged personal injury/insurance claim from 2024 traffic crash.

DOCKET ENTRIES

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. vs. Valerie McGrath, aka Valerie Felton; $24,096 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Village of Salineville vs. Kevin W. Stacy; $4,928 judgment granted to plaintiff.

Village of Salineville vs. Darla K. White; $5,639 judgment granted to plaintiff.

County Treasurer vs. Elijah W. Alexander Jr., et al.; TotalEnergies E & P, Inc. dismissed as defendant.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, a pretrial was set June 10 for Ryan L. Pritt, 44, Lisbon Street, East Liverpool, charged with aggravated menacing and domestic violence for allegedly threatening a man, saying he was going to kill him and his mother on May 26 in East Liverpool.

A status conference/pretrial was set June 3 for John M. Corradi, 37, Midland, Pa., charged with domestic violence and aggravated menacing for allegedly being aggressive toward a woman and destroying a tire on her vehicle on March 9 in St. Clair Township. On May 17, he made statements about coming to burn the woman’s house down in St. Clair Township and while police were there, he kept his hand in his waistline and told an officer to stay away from him or he would pull his firearm and shoot him. He was walking backwards and telling the officer to shoot him.

A court trial was set June 10 for Gary Allen Shell, 30, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with aggravated menacing for allegedly pointing a loaded handgun at another man on Sept. 12, 2025 in East Liverpool.

Matthew E. Berger, 48, Bayard Road, Minerva, was fined $3,000 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 120 days suspended, leaving a balance of 60 days to serve in jail and an additional 60 days of electronically-monitored house arrest with work release for six counts of violation of a protection order. He must complete 40 hours community service. He was also fined $50 for failure to control, with a charge of failure to stop after an accident dismissed. Berger violated a protection order multiple times involving the same protected person, most recently sending two videos and two text messages to the woman on Jan. 25 in Butler Township. Other violations were from Nov. 11, 2025 when he was in her driveway and stared at her, Nov. 4, 2025 when he was on her property, Aug. 28, 2025 when he was sitting in his vehicle in front of her mailbox and made eye contact with her and a second protected person and Aug. 13, 2025 when he sent her a blank text from his phone.

Michael C. McConnell, 28, Avondale Street, East Liverpool, was fined $250 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 162 days suspended and credit for 18 days served, for assault amended from domestic violence. He must complete 20 hours community service. McConnell pushed a woman and slammed her arm in a door on May 8 in East Liverpool.

Emily P. Weddle, 23, West Pine Street, Lisbon, was fined $150 for disorderly conduct amended from endangering children, with a domestic violence charge dismissed. The judgment entry said the affidavit of the charging officer was not accurate and he did not observe injuries to the child, with the charges dismissed and amended at the prosecutor’s request. Weddle had been accused of hitting a man in the side of the face, with the affidavit saying she hit a child while attempting to hit the man who he was holding the child on Sept. 4, 2025 in Lisbon.

A pretrial was set June 10 for Andrew Brian Davis, 42, state Route 45, Lisbon, charged with domestic violence for allegedly pushing and shoving a woman and slamming her head in a door on May 27 in Madison Township.

A pretrial was set June 3 for Cody Hedge, 18, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with menacing for allegedly threatening to harm a woman and burn her house down on May 26 in East Liverpool.

Shane Tyler Randolph, 34, Riverview Street, East Liverpool, was fined $250 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 179 days suspended and credit for one day served, for aggravated menacing, with 40 hours community service ordered. On Feb. 27 in East Liverpool, he threatened another man, saying he was going to split his head open, stomp his head into the ground, drag him through the dirt and cut his throat and also called him racial slurs.

A pretrial was set June 10 for Nicholas Devan Gardner, 26, Globe Street, East Liverpool, charged with endangering children and domestic violence for allegedly picking up two knives while yelling at a woman and slamming them off the top of the stove, breaking the stove top, while cursing at a child and then throwing the knives on the ground, with one almost striking the child in the leg on May 19 in East Liverpool.

Ashley Marie Juarez, 36, Grimms Bridge Road, East Liverpool, was fined $100 and must complete 25 hours community service for disorderly conduct amended from domestic violence for acting aggressive toward a man and destroying a television on March 9 in St. Clair Township.

Timothy Allen Gault, 18, McKinnon Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $150 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended and credit for one day served, for disorderly conduct amended from aggravated menacing, with 20 hours community service ordered. Gault was holding a bat yelling at a house in Liverpool Township and making threats on Dec. 9, 2025.

Phaline E. McMillen, 18, Hartley Road, Alliance, was fined $200 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for complicity to criminal damaging, with a charge of contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child dismissed. She must complete 20 hours community service. McMillen drove her car with multiple juveniles in it to Buck Road to cause damage to multiple vehicles on March 7.

The sentence against Timothy S. Clavin, 59, Poland, was ordered executed after his petition for Supreme Court of Ohio jurisdiction was denied. His case had been stayed pending appeal including after the Seventh District Court of Appeals upheld his conviction. Clavin had been fined $750 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for requesting sexual activity from an undercover agent with the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force in exchange for $140, then traveling to Salem for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession. He lost the appeal of the court’s ruling against his previous motion to dismiss the case. As part of the sentence, he was also ordered to complete 20 hours community service and a prostitution prevention course.

Joshua Vance Baisden, 43, Fresno, was fined $850 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for engaging in prostitution, possessing criminal tools and drug paraphernalia for responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual activity with a woman for two hours for $280, then traveling to East Palestine on March 21 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements and a meth pipe.

A pretrial was set July 28 for David J. Grimm, 51, New Castle, Pa., charged with engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools for allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual activity with a woman for $140, then traveling to East Palestine on May 26 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Victo Manuel Diaz De Montes Oca, 34, Painesville, received no fine and received credit for 16 days served in jail for criminal trespass for throwing illegal contraband onto the grounds of the federal prison in Elkton while trespassing on prison land on May 9.

Jacob Caleb Cameron, 20, New Cumberland, W.Va., was fined $200 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended and credit for one day served, for drug paraphernalia and open container. On June 3, 2025, he possessed a rolled up paper with suspected narcotics in East Liverpool and had an open container on May 26 in St. Clair Township.

Christopher Dorsey, 45, last known address Erie Street, East Liverpool, was fined $500, with $400 of the fine suspended, and sentenced to three days in jail with credit for three days served, leaving no time to serve for a housing code violation. The judgment entry said he must comply with housing department orders and the house at 1281 Erie Street, East Liverpool shall remain unoccupied until further order of the court. The property was condemned in October 2025 and Dorsey removed the condemned placard on Oct. 7, 2025.

Bryan Faust, 20, East Euclid Avenue, Salem, was ordered to pay costs only for littering for throwing quikcrete into the trash with some going on the ground at a park in Salem on May 11.

A pretrial was set June 1 for Ryan S. Romigh, 32, Tower Road, Salem, charged with criminal damaging for allegedly pouring sugar into the gas tank of another man’s car on May 25 in Butler Township.

A charge of prevention of authorized hunting against Michael Walter Gasaway, 45, Black Road, Lisbon, was dismissed. Gasaway had been accused of interfering with a hunter’s hunt by releasing his dogs and riding his ATV in the area on Nov. 22, 2025.

A pretrial was set June 3 for Tyler Howell, 28, New Cumberland, W.Va., charged with operating a vehicle impaired, no license, turn signal violation, endangering children and drug paraphernalia for allegedly possessing a rolled up paper with suspected narcotics during a traffic stop May 26 in East Liverpool with a child in the vehicle.

Matthew D. Kern, 44, state Route 344, Leetonia, was fined $1,550 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 165 days suspended, leaving 15 days to serve in jail for OVI amended from a third offense to a second offense and for failure to control. He was ordered to serve 30 days electronically monitored house arrest and must complete 30 hours community service.

A pretrial was set June 3 for Matthew Christopher Ward, 38, Michigan Avenue, East Liverpool, charged with aggravated menacing and theft for allegedly threatening to kill a police officer at Trinity Professional Group in East Liverpool on May 22 over officers taking his medication a few days before that. He also allegedly stole some medical supplies from Trinity Professional Group, including band aids, gauze pads, gloves and training equipment.

Randy Joe Cox, 45, Canfield, was fined $750 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. He must complete an educational course. He responded to a familial undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranged for sexual activity with the females in exchange for $140, then traveled to East Palestine for the meeting on Dec. 30, 2025 and had the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Jerry Teter, 68, Elkins, W.Va., was fined $750 and given a suspended 90-day jail term for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools, with an educational course ordered. Teter responded to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranged for sexual activity with a woman for $140, traveling to East Palestine on Feb. 13 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Herbert Walter Lockhart, 38, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $150 and sentenced to 20 days in jail, with credit for one day served, leaving 19 days still to serve for obstructing official business for hiding from police under a blanket in a pile of clothes after police gave warnings for him to make himself known in St. Clair Township on May 25.

A pretrial was set July 22 for Richard T. Williams, 39, 15th Street, Wellsville, charged with possession of a schedule 4 substance, menacing and restricted tinted glass for allegedly possessing 10 blue alprazolam pills during a traffic stop on May 23 in Liverpool Township. On April 12 in Wellsville, he allegedly yelling threats at a man from his vehicle.

A pretrial was set Aug. 4 for Meadow M. Anderson, 18, Cleveland Street, Salem, charged with theft for allegedly stealing $80 worth of items from the Salem Walmart on May 22.