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Judge Bickerton rejects bid for intervention in protection order case

LISBON — Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton denied a request by the defense attorney for John D. Yerkey, 45, West Middleton Road, Salem, for intervention in lieu of conviction.

Yerkey, a licensed chiropractor with an office in Boardman, appeared in court last week. He is charged with three counts of violating a temporary protection order.

His defense attorney, Gregg A. Rossi, argued the use of alcohol and mental illness were the causes of Yerkey’s alleged actions on the days of the offenses.

Assistant County Prosecutor Tammie Riley Jones argued the offenses are violent in nature, which make them statutorily precluded from eligibility for intervention in lieu of conviction.

Yerkey is alleged to have violated the protection order on June 30, July 31 and Aug. 1. He also has two previous convictions for violating the terms of protection orders in Mahoning County in 2016 and 2017.

Bickerton pointed out there are multiple reasons for her denying the request for ILC including the fact there are more than one instance.

Jamie Datillio, Yerkey’s ex-wife with the protection order, was represented by attorney Carlo A. Ciccone, who asked for the bond to be modified after he said he believes there have been some activity involving the posting to social media and postings to a joint bank account, which is not supposed to be being used.

But right now Ciccone noted Datillio’s main priority is “her safety and the safety of her children.”

At the same time, Datillio asked Bickerton to consider putting back into place a bond condition requiring Yerkey to be electronically monitored. Such a bond condition had been in place when Yerkey was bound over from county Municipal Court, but was taken off by Judge C. Ashley Pike when the case reached Common Pleas Court.

Bickerton denied that request after Kyle Gainer from the probation department explained the department, which is monitoring Yerkey during the pendency of the case, currently does not have GPS capabilities for tracking people. However, Gainer said they are currently looking into the technology.

Rossi argued the two parties are divorced now and it does not appear to him there has been any contact between them in months.

Likewise Bickerton noted she would not put back into place an order that kept Yerkey from attending his children’s sporting events at Crestview schools, which is near Datillio’s home.

The three counts of violating a temporary protection order were indicted in two different cases. The jury trial for one of the cases has now been moved to Feb. 26 and the other is scheduled for March 12.

djohnson@mojonews.com

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