Trending
Common Pleas
NEW CASES
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. unknown heirs, etc. of Benny T. Peters, c/o Brenda Angus, Fairway Road, East Liverpool, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Alton Street, East Liverpool property.
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Richard W. Coleman, West Pine Lake Road, Salem, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for West Pine Lake Road, Salem property.
County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Billy Rodney Gaddis, Riverview Street, East Liverpool, et al.; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Riverview Street, East Liverpool property.
Eric Shawn Ward, Fairway Drive, East Liverpool, and Tammy Rae Ward, Fairway Drive, East Liverpool; dissolution sought.
DOCKET ENTRIES
County Treasurer vs. Lonnie B. Watson Jr.; delinquent property tax foreclosure ordered for Commerce Street, Wellsville property.
Shane M. Wellman and Jennifer E. Wellman; dissolution granted.
Devinne Marie Dietz vs. Akshay Gohil; divorce granted.
Grand Jury
LISBON -- Eric S. McFarland, 47, state Route 7, Lisbon, was served Tuesday with a secret indictment issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and possessing drug abuse instruments, a misdemeanor, for allegedly possessing methamphetamine and drug abuse instruments on Nov. 23, 2025.
Court News
LISBON -- A New Jersey woman accused of breaking into vehicles last year and stealing a wallet, credit card and debit card had her case dismissed after she was ruled not competent.
Jean C. Evens, 28, Irvington, did not appear for the recent hearing in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court due to being hospitalized at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon.
Judge Scott Washam based the dismissal on a competency restoration evaluation of the defendant and the record, determining Evens wasn't capable of understanding the nature and objectives of the proceedings and not capable of assisting in her defense. Also based on the report, he found that there was not a substantial probability for Evens to be restored to competency within the time period allowed by law.
He also noted the state wasn't pursuing any sort of probate/civil commitment proceedings involving the defendant.
Evens was indicted last year two counts theft, a fifth-degree felony, and three counts criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, for allegedly breaking into three vehicles in the parking lot of Reichard Industries LLC, Columbiana, and stealing a wallet from one of the vehicles on Sept. 29, 2025, also allegedly stealing a credit card and a debit card that day.
Municipal
LISBON -- In Columbiana County Municipal Court, cases against Scott Eric Kopras, 34, Bradshaw Avenue, East Liverpool, were bound over to the county grand jury for third-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanors of assault and unlawful restraint for allegedly assaulting a woman and strangling her in East Liverpool on Sept. 22.
According to the police affidavit, the woman was in the parking lot of East Liverpool City Hospital and afraid to go inside after the defendant allegedly slapped her in the eye and started punching her with his fist, then grabbed her by the throat and began to strangle her. She said she couldn't breathe as she begged him to stop, he let her go briefly and then started punching her in the head until she was covered in blood, the affidavit said. The document also said he told her he didn't trust her to leave and she felt that she was not allowed to leave.
His bond had been set at $150,000 cash or surety and he was ordered to have no contact with the victim and possess no weapons or firearms. He was also fined $300 for driving under suspension and was sentenced to 60 days in jail, with credit for six days served, leaving a balance of 54 days still to serve for violating the terms of his probation for a 2024 case of operating a vehicle impaired.
Christopher M. Chadwick, 27, Brooklyn Avenue, Salem, was fined $500 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 88 days suspended and credit for two days served for failure to comply amended from a felony to a misdemeanor. His license was suspended for 180 days, with driving privileges granted. He was recently found competent to stand trial. On July 26, 2026, he fled from a traffic stop on an ATV in Hanoverton.
A pretrial was set Oct. 14 for Robert Lee Vincent Garner, 30, Youngstown, charged with misdemeanors of endangering children and possessing criminal tools for an alleged incident related to responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and offering to transport a woman to her sex-for-hire date in exchange for money and narcotics. A fifth-degree felony charge of attempted (related to alleged promoting prostitution according to the complaint) was dismissed without prejudice for the complaint being deficient, a judgment entry said after a preliminary hearing. Garner allegedly arrived in New Waterford in Unity Township on Sept. 19 to pick up the alleged woman, with his girlfriend, who was unaware, driving the vehicle with two children in the car. He had the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession.
A pretrial was set Oct. 7 for Darryl Michael Pudder, 53, West Main Street, New Waterford, charged with assault and endangering children for allegedly grabbing a child by the wrist and pulling the child, leaving marks and shoving the child in the stomach, hitting the wall and leaving marks in New Waterford on June 9, 2026.
A pretrial was set Oct. 7 for Eric Russell Adkins, 39, West Main Street, East Palestine, charged with domestic violence for allegedly pushing a relative who then pushed him back, then punching the relative while he was on the ground in the head area after an argument Sept. 29 in East Palestine.
Nicholas Pete Vojnovich, 30, Duke Vodrey Road, East Liverpool, was fined $500 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 88 days suspended and credit for two days served, for disorderly conduct amended from criminal damaging and obstructing official business amended from resisting arrest, with 20 hours community service ordered. Vojnovich was arguing with a woman on July 25 in St. Clair Township and came outside attempting to get her out of her vehicle and ripped off the driver's door handle. Officers arrived and attempted to talk to him but he kept yelling and when he came back outside was intoxicated and refusing to identify himself. When placed under arrest, he began pulling away.
Michael D. Jenkins, 36, North Market Street, Lisbon, was fined $850 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, endangering children and reckless operation, with 20 hours community service ordered. A charge of driving under suspension was dismissed. He had a child in the vehicle when he was stopped in a disabled vehicle on Feb. 15, 2026 in Elkrun Township and showed signs of impairment. His license was suspended for 180 days.
James R. Wilson, 31, Church Street, New Waterford, was fined $500 and received credit for 12 days served in jail for drug abuse instruments and drug paraphernalia for possessing a hypodermic needle and a plastic bag with white crystal substance during a traffic stop on April 24, 2026 in Salem.
A pretrial was set Nov. 24 for Roberta Baker, 62, Annesley Road, East Liverpool, charged with exterior protection and housing code violation buildings and structures for allegedly violating housing codes due to exterior maintenance issues at a Bradshaw Avenue property in East Liverpool noted on April 20 2026 and on May 31, 2026