Court News

LISBON — A man accused of using force or the threat of force during the theft of a utility vehicle entered guilty pleas recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

Joshua E. Houston, 46, Canton, pleaded guilty to robbery, a third-degree felony, and grand theft of a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, with sentencing set for July 10.

The incident occurred on Sept. 28, 2023 and involved a 2022 Polaris Ranger.

Common Pleas

NEW CASES

Donald T. Crane, West South Range Road, Columbiana, vs. Cynthia M. Crane Commarata, Hamilton Road, East Palestine; damages sought for alleged claims of defamation, false police report, intentional infliction of emotional distress and prima facie tort.

DNF Associates LLC, Getzville, N.Y., vs. Nicholas Adkins, Maplewood Avenue, East Liverpool; collection sought of alleged $3,326 debt.

Westlake Services, LLC, Los Angeles, Calif., vs. Alex Felton, Salem Alliance Road, Salem; collection sought of alleged $18,185 debt.

Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, Anaheim, Calif., vs. unknown heirs of Helene Ann Sheets, address unknown, et al.; mortgage foreclosure sought for Columbiana County property.

John Paul Bryan, individually and as trustee for Ohio Mutual Insurance Agency, Queensway Street, East Liverpool, and Ohio Mutual Insurance Agency, Bucyrus; vs. Paula Parks, Y & O Road, East Liverpool; damages sought for personal injury/insurance claim from 2025 traffic crash.

DOCKET ENTRIES

Briana Curtis vs. Logan Curtis; divorce granted.

Municipal

LISBON — In Columbiana County Municipal Court, cases against Charles D. Green, 40, South Cross Street, Columbiana, were bound over to the county grand jury for second-degree felony strangulation and fourth-degree felony domestic violence for allegedly forcing a woman onto a bed and holding her down, then using his belt to strangle her until she lost consciousness, then let go of the belt and left when she recovered on June 26 at Breezeway Mobile Manor, state Route 558, Salem Township. The affidavit said the victim is pregnant and Green was aware of this.

A case against Dominic Dwayne Crooms, 27, Summit Drive, Salineville, was bound over to the county grand jury for fourth-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanor domestic violence for allegedly placing his hands around a woman’s neck and squeezing in an attempt of strangulation and striking her in the face, head and body on Feb. 27 in East Liverpool.

A case against Luke Andrew Morrison, 27, Cora Street, East Liverpool, was bound over to the county grand jury for fourth-degree felony disruption of public services for allegedly calling the East Liverpool Police Department nine times between 8:12 p.m. and 9:27 p.m. May 27 with no grounds to report a crime or file a complaint. He had been told that officers were tied up and unable to speak to him to answer questions that did not pertain to any crime taking place and continued to call, causing an unnecessary burden on the 911 call center.

Sally J. Stanley, 60, Leslie Road, Lisbon, was fined $300 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 171 suspended and credit for nine days served, with 20 hours community service for assault amended from domestic violence for assaulting a man on June 20 in Lisbon.

Cody Hedge, 19, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $100 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with credit for 30 days served, leaving no time to serve for menacing. Counsel for the defendant and the state both stipulated to the findings and report of the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio, with the defense withdrawing its motion for competency. Hedge threatened to burn a woman’s house down on May 26 in East Liverpool.

A pretrial was set Sept. 9 for Cassandra Spadaccia, state Route 45, Lisbon, charged with assault for allegedly chasing another woman, grabbing her hair and punching her in Lisbon on April 21.

Corbin Paul Schmeltz, 20, Taggart Street, East Palestine, was fined $300 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 179 days suspended and credit for one day served, with 40 hours community service, for assault amended from domestic violence. He also must serve 30 days of electronically monitored house arrest. He shoved a woman to the floor and stomped on her back several times on April 27 in East Palestine.

Johnathan Wayne Russell, 34, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $150 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 60 days suspended and credit for nine days served, leaving a balance of 111 days to serve in jail for domestic violence and disorderly conduct. He was ordered to stay away from the victim. He struck a woman with a closed fist on June 22 and while being taken to jail, he was screaming and crying and banging his head off of the glass partition in the cruiser.

Hayle Lynn Schreffler, 22, North Beaver Street, Lisbon, was fined $400 and sentenced to 30 days in jail, with 29 days suspended and credit for one day served, for domestic violence and disorderly conduct amended from endangering children, with 20 hours community service. She was ordered to have no contact with the victim. She struck a man in the face and chest and threw children’s toys at him during an altercation in front of children on Feb. 5 in Lisbon.

Charles Raymond Lewis, 44, Dresden Avenue, East Liverpool, was fined $400 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 173 days suspended and credit for five days served, leaving two days to serve in jail for theft and criminal trespass. He must make restitution of $250 to the victim. On March 4, he entered the former East Liverpool Motor Lodge property and stole wood and tire rings.

A sentencing hearing was set July 21 for Lee A. Courtney, 60, Buckeye Avenue, Salem, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for punching a vehicle and yelling at the driver while voluntarily intoxicated on June 3 in Salem, where he was also belligerent with police officers and yelling profanities.

Roger D. Wright, 77, state Route 39, Wellsville, was fined $200 for discharge firearm for firing an air gun out of a second-floor window on June 26 in East Liverpool.

A status conference hearing was set Aug. 4 and a jury trial was set Sept. 24 for Jacob Dawayne Rochwick, 47, New Castle, Pa., charged with two counts of engaging in prostitution and two counts of possessing criminal tools for allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual activity with a woman in exchange for money, then traveling to East Palestine for the meeting on Oct. 31, 2025, then making arrangements again in answer to an ad and arriving on April 24 for the meeting in East Liverpool for sexual activity.

Christopher Lee Norman, 32, Ashtabula, was fined $750 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 177 days suspended and credit for three days served, with 25 hours community service, for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. He was ordered to complete a prostitution prevention course and agreed to forfeit $301 to the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Norman responded to an undercover ad of two women on a known prostitution website and arranged for sexual activity with them in exchange for $300, traveling to East Palestine on Jan. 29 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Samuel Amadeus Cheeks, 39, New Brighton, Pa., was fined $750 and sentenced to 180 days in jail, with 178 days suspended and credit for two days served, with 25 hours community service, for engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. He must complete a prostitution prevention course. Cheeks responded to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranged for sexual activity with a woman in exchange for money, then traveled to East Palestine on Feb. 18 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.

Nickolas P. Perez, 34, Newton Falls, was fined $300 and sentenced to 60 days in jail, with 58 days suspended and credit for one day served, leaving one day still to serve for disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and criminal trespass, with 25 hours community service ordered. He must make restitution of $2,700 to the victim. He punched another man in the face during a fight on April 2, 2025 in Lisbon. On Nov. 21, 2024 in Columbiana, he had entered a woman’s vehicle and ransacked it, with some property from inside the vehicle laying outside on the ground and a crossbow arrow broken.

A pretrial was set Sept. 9 for Alvin Stanley Pugh, 46, Etruria Street, East Liverpool, charged with criminal trespass for allegedly being in a condemned property in East Liverpool past the hour he was allowed to be there on June 25, claiming he was there to get his dog out of the house.

A pretrial was set Sept. 8 for Robert T. Dawson III, 39, Avondale Street, East Liverpool, charged with maximum possible height of weeds for allegedly creating a public nuisance by failing to cut weeds growing to a height of 8 inches or more on Avondale Street, East Liverpool.

Karen L. Grimm, 76, Center Street, East Liverpool, was fined $75 for maximum permissible height of weeds for failing to cut grass/weeds at her Center Street, East Liverpool property as of May 13.

Zachary Ricky Lee Cline, 34, Minerva Street, East Liverpool, was fined $300 and sentenced to one day in jail, with credit for one day served, leaving no time to serve for theft for stealing six items valued at $558 from the Calcutta Walmart on June 24.

A pretrial was set July 20 for Waldon P. Brunner, 85, Duke Vodrey Road, East Liverpool, charged with theft for allegedly stealing a wallet left behind by another customer at Aldi’s in St. Clair Township on June 22, then returning and dropping the wallet on the floor, with the owner finding the cash missing.

A pretrial was set Sept. 2 for Nicholas Anthony Degenova, 48, High Street, New Waterford, charged with theft for allegedly stealing aluminum scrap/coils for radiators on April 9, 11, 19 and 28 from NDC in New Waterford.

Jeffrey T. McCain, 51, West State Street, Salem, was fined $150 for drug paraphernalia for possessing a green pipe with burnt residue and a white baggie with a white crystal substance.

Brian R. Davis, 48, state Route 45, Lisbon, was fined $915 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 87 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program for disorderly conduct amended from resisting arrest, physical control amended from OVI, marked lanes, turn signal violation and speeding. Charges of obstructing official business, plate light and no seat belt were dismissed. His license was suspended for one year and he was ordered to complete 20 hours community service. During his arrest for OVI, he was pushing against officers in Lisbon and bracing himself within the police vehicle’s doorway on June 22, 2025.

Nathaniel Blackburn, 36, Christian Place, East Liverpool, was fined $615 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 87 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program for physical control amended from OVI and reasonable control. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His license was suspended for 10 months with driving privileges granted. He also must serve 10 days electronically monitored house arrest.

Connor William Ramsey, 24, 17th Street, Wellsville, was fined $615 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 87 days suspended and credit for three days served in a driver intervention program, for physical control amended from OVI and failure to control. Another OVI charge was dismissed. His license was suspended for one year with driving privileges granted and he must do 20 hours community service.