Columbiana County jail corrections officers get new pretrials for assaults
LISBON — Two corrections officers from the Columbiana County jail charged with misdemeanor assault charges for their alleged actions against inmates will face new pretrials in January.
Both David James Ferguson-Grantz, 26, Youngstown, who’s charged with two counts of assault, and Clint Ross Reynolds Jr., 26, state Route 344, Leetonia, who’s charged with one count of assault, waived their speedy trial time limits during pretrials on Tuesday in Columbiana County Municipal Court.
Both are represented by defense attorney James Lanzo.
A pretrial is set Jan. 6 for Reynolds, with a pretrial set Jan. 14 for Ferguson-Grantz.
Ferguson-Grantz is accused of allegedly throwing one inmate to the floor while he was handcuffed behind his back, then allegedly assaulting him again while he was sitting in a chair by grabbing him around the neck and hitting his head against the wall on Sept. 18. The inmate was transported to Salem Regional Medical Center for his injuries, with both incidents captured on the jail video cameras.
On Sept. 24, Ferguson-Grantz escorted another inmate who was handcuffed behind his back to Post 40 of the jail and allegedly assaulted him by pushing him up the steps of the officer’s podium and then jumping on top of him, folding him in half. The inmate was taken to Salem Regional Medical Center for injuries. That incident was also captured on jail cameras.
Reynolds is accused of allegedly shoving a defendant from behind when he was exiting the booking area on Oct. 3 at the jail. Reynolds had been called to the booking area to escort the defendant from the building after he was being released and was refusing to leave the booking area. Then the defendant started to comply and started to exit when the alleged assault occurred.