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LISBON -- A man sentenced to prison last year for allegedly being impaired during a 2023 crash which seriously injured a woman is out of jail after an appeals court agreed his blood sample wasn't refrigerated properly.
Christopher C. Mele, 66, Lucretia Lane, Columbiana, appeared for a status hearing Friday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court with his defense attorney David Betras before Judge Megan Bickerton.
The case was remanded back to the trial court after the recent ruling by the Seventh District Court of Appeals.
A new trial date was set for 9 a.m. Oct. 13 in Common Pleas Court, with a status hearing set for 10:20 a.m. Oct. 5. The state was represented by county Assistant Prosecutor Alec Beech.
The case stems from a traffic crash on Aug. 12, 2023 when Mele's eastbound Buick Envision allegedly crossed the center lane on state Route 14 and struck a westbound vehicle driven by Matthew Murphy. Murphy's passenger, Samantha Harris, suffered serious physical harm as a result, according to the indictment.
Last fall, Mele entered pleas of no contest and stipulated to being found guilty of third-degree felony aggravated vehicular assault, fourth-degree felony vehicular assault and misdemeanor operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them. Another OVI charge was dismissed.
He was then sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison in November 2025, but did file an appeal with the Seventh District Court of Appeals challenging the blood evidence in the case.
While his case was in Common Pleas Court, he filed a motion to suppress through his attorney in an attempt to have the blood toxicology evidence thrown out, claiming the blood sample wasn't drawn in compliance with the Ohio Administrative Code because it wasn't refrigerated from the time it was collected to the time it was placed in the mail and sent to a lab.
At the time, Bickerton denied the motion to suppress, agreeing with the state's argument that the blood sample was in transit from the time it was collected on Aug. 12, 2023 until it arrived at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Crime Lab on Aug. 16.
In her ruling, she noted that a criminalist testified during the suppression hearing that there was nothing to indicate the test results were unreliable.
The appellate court, though, disagreed and reversed the trial court's decision, saying the failure to refrigerate the blood sample for a lengthy period of time was not reasonable.
"Because the blood sample was stored unrefrigerated for at least 32 hours and 19 minutes between transit periods, appellant's argument has merit and the judgment of the trial court is reversed. Suppression of all blood-related evidence must be granted and the matter is remanded in order to allow the state to determine if thee are any grounds to proceed with prosecution absent the blood test evidence," the appellate court ruled.
The appellate court didn't agree with the defense's contention that the search warrant should have been void because the Municipal Court lacked jurisdiction to sign the warrant and that the blood was drawn after the period provided by law.
The decision by the appellate court was issued on July 2, but Mele wasn't released until July 23, the day before the hearing Friday.
During the hearing, Betras addressed the court and started reviewing the fact that the appellate court's decision was issued on July 2, reversing the trial court's judgment for the suppression of all blood-related evidence.
Bickerton stopped him and noted that the court received a copy of the appellate decision and was aware of the ruling. She said she was confused on what his question was. She said she put an order to have his client released July 16. She didn't know why the sheriff's office didn't get him out until July 23. She also said she was confused on what record he was attempting to enter into the record.
He said he had a statement he wanted to enter on the record for his client, adding that he's allowed to supplement the record. He also commented that the court cut him off and if the court lets him finish, it will all be very clear.
She let him continue and he reviewed the dates, noting the ruling was made and sent July 2, then on July 7 a notice of assignment was sent for the July 24 hearing, instructing the defense to prepare a motion and order of transport for the defendant to appear. On July 9, Betras filed a motion to reinstate bond and motion to convey to bring his client back from the Mansfield Correctional Institution. On July 15, Bickerton signed the order granting the motion to reinstate bond and for the sheriff to convey Mele back to the county immediately. A court order was issued to the sheriff on July 16 to bring Mele Back. The recognizance bond was reinstated and Mele was released from the jail on July 23.
Betras said that when a case is reversed like that, he questioned why the defense had to file a motion to have the client brought back.
Bickerton explained to him that she was off when the appellate decision was made, plus there was the holiday and the weekend and she was off again for personal reasons. She signed the order as soon as she saw it.
Betras said the reason for the statement was "to explain to my client that I did everything I could to get him out."
Harris and Murphy filed a personal injury lawsuit against Mele in September 2023 over the crash which was later dismissed by their counsel.