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Also in Common Pleas Court, cases remain pending against two East Palestine residents who are among the several people indicted for theft and falsification related to alleged false claims for reimbursement that Norfolk Southern paid out related to the Feb. 3, 2023 train derailment.
An intervention in lieu of conviction hearing was set at 1 p.m. June 28 for Shelby Walker, 49, East Taggart Street, East Palestine, who is charged with fourth-degree felonies of grand theft and falsification in a theft offense for allegedly providing fraudulent falsified hotel receipts over a continuous course of conduct from April 14, 2023 through June 14, 2023 totaling an estimated $18,189. She allegedly made a fraudulent statement on July 25, 2023. Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton took under advisement a motion for change of venue filed by Walker's defense attorney.
"The local impact and involvement of this case make it impossible for the defendant to be assured of a fair and impartial trial in this case, since the entirety of the community from which the jury pool is drawn have been negatively impacted by the events of Feb. 3, 2023," the motion said.
The extensive media coverage was also noted to support the motion to move the case to another county.
A trial date of July 17 was set for Lauren Dilworth, 29, Park Avenue, East Palestine, charged with fourth-degree felonies of grand theft and falsification in a theft offense for allegedly submitting fictitious receipts to Norfolk Southern for reimbursement for lodging, food and fuel when she was not displaced by the train derailment. The amount allegedly received by fraudulent means totaled $18,840 from March 21, 2023 through May 6, 2023.
Also in Common Pleas Court:
-- Damien Phillips, 21, Ohio Avenue, Salem, pleaded guilty to 29 counts of vandalism, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for July 1. Recently he had been found competent to stand trial. Phillips was accused of causing damage to at least 15 or more vehicles at Stadium Chevrolet and a dozen postal delivery trucks at the Salem Post Office between Dec. 1, 2022 and Dec. 3, 2022 in Salem. According to Salem Police reports, multiple tires were slashed on multiple vehicles at both locations. The dealership vehicles damaged included 2022 and 2023 models for Chevy Silverado, Chevy Tahoe, GMC Sierra, Buick Enclave and Cadillac XT6.
-- Danielle Molish-Tanner, 37, Gardendale Street, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to lesser offenses of complicity to possession of cocaine, a third-degree felony, and complicity to possession of a fentanyl-related compound, also a third-degree felony, and a forfeiture specification, with sentencing set for June 27. First-degree felony charges of trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in fentanyl-related compound, along with a major drug offender specification, will be dismissed. The forfeiture of money involved $160 Molish-Tanner possessed during a drug raid at the Gardendale Street, East Liverpool property. The Columbiana County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at the residence on July 18, 2023 and found a large bag of suspected narcotic tablets and a large bag of suspected narcotics in a cabinet in the kitchen. Lab tests confirmed the 994 tablets contained fentanyl and the other substance was 583.04 grams of cocaine. A motion she had filed previously to suppress evidence from the drug raid was overruled, with the judge finding there was probable cause.
-- Gloria Flaherty, 49, Birch Road, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to third-degree felony illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse onto the grounds of a specified governmental facility and fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs, with sentencing set for June 3.
The indictment alleged that on April 23, 2022, Flaherty possessed methamphetamine and knowingly conveyed drugs onto the grounds of a detention facility. The indictment also noted that the offender, Flaherty, was an officer or employee of the department of rehabilitation and corrections or department of youth services.
-- Jennifer Mshar, 38, Youngstown, was placed on probation under community control for two years for aggravated possession of drugs, with credit for two days served in jail. Mshar possessed methamphetamine on April 7, 2022.
-- Kimberly Allen, 26, Canton, was placed on probation under community control for three years and ordered to serve nine days in jail, with credit for nine days already served, leaving a balance of zero days to serve, for fourth-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle. Allen was accused of taking a woman's 1999 Buick Century without her consent on South Street, Homeworth, on May 18, 2023.
-- Erin Atkinson, 44, Vienna, was placed on an intervention plan for a period of 28 months after pleading guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing methamphetamine on Nov. 9, 2022. The plan was ordered served at the same time as the intervention plan in another case for Atkinson.
-- A Salem man originally indicted for two counts of gross sexual imposition involving a child entered a guilty plea recently to endangering children, a third-degree felony.
Donald Larabee, 38, Merle Road, pleaded guilty in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to prosecutor's information for the charge, with the charges of gross sexual imposition from the original indictment dismissed.
He was immediately sentenced to 13 days in jail, with credit for three days served, leaving a balance of 10 days to serve in the county jail. He was placed under community control for five years.
The offenses from the indictment occurred from June 1, 2016 through Sept. 1 2016 beginning when the child victim was eight years old.