Trending
LISBON -- A Defiance man accused of walking into a Salem residence uninvited on April 11, 2022, claiming a woman owed him money, and then having a gun in a vehicle on April 13, 2022 filed an appeal Tuesday of his sentence and conviction.
Salah Edwards, 21, was sentenced Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to three years to four and a half years in prison for burglary, a second-degree felony. Terms of 12 months in prison for a fourth-degree felony improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle and 90 days in the county jail for obstructing official business were ordered served at the same time as the burglary sentence.
A jury found Edwards guilty of the burglary count, but he entered guilty pleas to the other two counts of the indictment.
The appeal in the 7th District Court of Appeals is challenging the jury trial conviction and the sentence imposed by Judge Scott Washam. A request for a stay of the sentence pending appeal was denied.
Edwards, referred to in a police affidavit as Slim, was accused of entering the Salem residence and telling the victims their daughter owed him money and then making threats against the victims and their daughter. Two days later, he returned and the residents called police, claiming there was a gun involved.
Police detained Edwards and another person and found a gun in the vehicle with an extended magazine in a bag beside the gun and a single round within reach in the vehicle. Edwards reportedly started to walk away and was told if he didn't stop, a K-9 would be released to apprehend him.
Also in Common Pleas Court:
-- Jordan L. Gainer, 34, Smithfield Street, East Liverpool, was sentenced to three to four and a half years for aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, an additional three years for a gun specification and an additional six months for drug charges for a total maximum possible sentence of eight years total. In one case, Gainer pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, and having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony, along with a gun specification. A charge of aggravated menacing, a misdemeanor, was dismissed. Gainer was accused of entering a home when he was armed with a shotgun, in order to commit a theft offense, on Jan. 1, 2022, leading the resident to fear for her life or safety. He had an aggravated robbery conviction from 2007. He also pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl-related compound and possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies, for possessing a fentanyl-related compound and buprenorphine on Feb. 26, 2022. A charge for illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specialized governmental facility was dismissed.
-- Grant Goodballet, 24, Bank Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and a misdemeanor criminal damaging count, with sentencing set for April 21. Goodballet struck Christine Ross on top of the head with a baseball bat after an argument on July 2, 2022 on East Sixth Street in Salem and also used the bat to damage a 2012 Chevy Cruze belonging to Austin Smith. The second-degree felony charge carries a possible maximum penalty of eight to 12 years in prison.
-- Christopher Laux, 34, New Castle, Pa., pleaded guilty to attempted compelling prostitution, a fourth-degree felony, amended from compelling prostitution, a third-degree felony. A fifth-degree felony of possessing criminal tools will be dismissed at sentencing, which is set for May 11. Laux solicited sexual conduct from an undercover agent posing as a juvenile in exchange for money in East Palestine on June 12, 2022.
-- Donald Riggs, 45, Wilbert Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated possession of drugs from two separate indictments, with sentencing set for April 21. Riggs possessed methamphetamine on June 4, 2020 and Aug. 21, 2020.
-- Tiyler Tataseo, 22, Pennsylvania Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony domestic violence and using weapons while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, with a specification for forfeiture of a firearm, with sentencing set for May 5. Tataseo attempted or caused harm to a woman and possessed a 9mm handgun on Dec. 9, 2022 in East Liverpool.
-- Christopher Brown, 47, Walnut Street, Rogers, pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for May 11, for possessing methamphetamine on March 22, 2022. A charge of possession of drugs will be dismissed.
-- Arthur Brown III, 62, Steubenville Pike Road, Hammondsville, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony, and sexual imposition, a misdemeanor, for improperly touching a 10-year-old child from birth in 2010 to May 21, 2020 and for having sexual contact with a second child starting when the child was 8 years old in October 2014 and continuing through May 21, 2020. He received credit for 17 days served.
-- Christine Coil, 44, West Main Street, Salineville, was ordered to complete the program at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Lisbon after violating her probation for aggravated possession of drugs for possessing methamphetamine on June 4, 2020.
-- Corey Jones, 33, Cleveland, was placed on probation for three years improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony, with credit for 16 days served in jail. Jones transported a loaded firearm in a vehicle within reach of the driver and any passengers on Feb. 9, 2022.
-- Rhiannon Ikirt, 23, Mattix Road, Lisbon, was sentenced to prison for 18 months for violating her probation for a third-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and after pleading guilty to a fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs for possessing methamphetamine on May 2, 2022. She received credit for 232 days served. The charge for the probation violation stemmed from possessing methamphetamine on Feb. 11, 2021.
-- Indya Spann, 22, Commerce Street, Wellsville, was placed on a treatment plan for three years after pleading guilt to charges in two separate indictments. The charges included aggravated possession of drugs, possession of drugs, possession of cocaine and possessing of heroin, all fifth-degree felonies. Spann possessed cocaine, heroin and eutylone on Oct. 1, 2021 and buprenorphine on Nov. 25, 2021.