Grand Jury

LISBON — A case involving a man accused of breaking into an apartment and running away with potatoes and cigarettes was one of 16 open indictments issued Wednesday.

The Columbiana County Grand Jury met for two days examining 50 witnesses and covering 50 cases, issuing 16 open indictments and 34 secret indictments. Secret indictments remain secret until the defendant is served with the paperwork.

Homer Scott Linger, 49, West Sixth Street, East Liverpool, was charged with a second-degree felony burglary charge for allegedly breaking into an apartment in East Liverpool on Jan. 18. A police affidavit said he was allegedly seen by the residents running from the apartment with a bag of potatoes and cigarettes in his hands.

Also openly indicted for second-degree felony burglary, along with fourth-degree felony grand theft, was Joseph M. Savin Jr., 39, Clark Avenue, Wellsville. Savin allegedly stole a Kubota tractor from a garage he broke into in Wellsville between Dec. 28, 2024 through Jan. 4 this year, with the Kubota reported missing on Jan. 3. He was pulled over with the Kubota in East Palestine and allegedly admitted to taking it and leaving it on a friend’s property in Toronto.

Other open indictments included:

— Mathew E. Shelton, 26, state Route 154, Lisbon, failure to provide notice of change of address, a first-degree felony, for allegedly failing to register his address with the county sheriff’s office within three days of moving, as he was required since he’s a convicted sex offender. He reported on Jan. 22, but said he moved to the county on Dec. 11, 2024.

— Christopher Osborne, 44, Riley Avenue, East Liverpool, two separate indictments, one for third-degree felony failure to provide notice of change of address, and one for fourth-degree felony domestic violence and misdemeanor domestic violence. Osborne allegedly registered a Wellsville address with the county sheriff’s office in October 2014 as required since he’s a Tier II sex offender, but then listed an address in East Liverpool when he was booked into the county jail on Jan. 19. He was required to notify the sheriff’s office 20 days prior to changing his address, an affidavit said. The domestic violence charges stemmed from him allegedly busting through a door and charging at a woman, then shoving her into a wall, causing her to drop to her knees on Jan. 19 in East Liverpool.

— Jontay Johnson, 30, Laura Avenue, East Liverpool, third-degree felony domestic violence, fourth-degree felony strangulation, and misdemeanors of obstructing official business and domestic violence for allegedly causing harm to a woman and strangling her on Jan. 27, 2025, with at least three previous convictions for domestic violence on his record. On Jan. 28, he allegedly obstructed officials and caused harm to the woman.

— Nashua Jenkins, 27, South Lincoln Avenue, Salem, fourth-degree felony strangulation and two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence for allegedly assaulting a woman on Jan. 20 in Salem, choking her during the altercation.

— Hope Jackson-Ingram, 31, Broadway Avenue, Wellsville, misdemeanors of domestic violence and endangering children for allegedly choking a teen girl during a domestic on Dec. 13, 2024 in Wellsville.

— Richard Vecchio, 62, state Route 164, Lisbon, fourth-degree felony assault and misdemeanors of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for allegedly standing in the middle of North Market Street in Lisbon while intoxicated, approaching vehicles as they slowed down and hitting their windows on Feb. 5. He allegedly resisted arrest and pulled away from officers attempting to take him into custody. He also allegedly kicked an officer in the shin two times while being placed in the cruiser.

— Jaden Koehn, 22, Mountz Road, Minerva, two counts of fourth-degree felony trespass in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present for allegedly trespassing into two separate Minerva area properties while residents were home, including with children present, on Feb. 4.

— Kevin Frazier, 43, May Road, East Liverpool, misdemeanors of criminal damaging and unauthorized use of a vehicle for allegedly taking a woman’s 1997 Chevy GMC without permission and then wrecking it, causing damage on Jan. 31.

— Heidi Gallagher, 59, West Sixth Street, East Liverpool, fifth-degree felony receiving stolen property and misdemeanor theft for allegedly using a stolen debit card to pay a cell phone bill and buy items at two businesses on May 14, 2024, with the total stolen $424.

— Randy T. Farmer-Reese, 36, Youngstown, fourth-degree felony promoting prostitution and fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools for allegedly driving a woman to a sex for hire meeting in East Palestine on Nov. 23, with at least one of the phone numbers the woman used to communicate with an undercover agent allegedly coming from Reese’s phone.

— James R. Lemmon, 41, Mingo Junction, fourth-degree felony attempt to commit an offense, fifth-degree felony trafficking in marijuana, and misdemeanors of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools. Lemmon was accused of allegedly responding to an undercover ad on a known prostitution website and arranging for sexual acts with a female in exchange for drugs, traveling to East Palestine on Nov. 25, 2024 for the meeting with the phone used to make the arrangements in his possession. He also allegedly possessed 14 individually packaged baggies of marijuana at the scene and on Nov. 27, 2024 he allegedly contacted a woman to factory reset his cell phone and walked her through the steps to do it, which was considered an attempt to tamper with evidence.

— Ronald Harper, 37, North Market Street, East Palestine, fourth-degree felony grand theft of a motor vehicle and misdemeanors of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them, and three counts of OVI of a listed controlled substance or a listed metabolite of a controlled substance. Harper allegedly stole a 2014 Ford Focus in East Palestine Circle K on Nov. 7 while impaired, with the indictment listing methamphetamine, amphetamine and marijuana all in his system at the time.

— William McFarland Jr., 33, Lisbon Road, Salem, third-degree felony having weapons while under disability for having a 9mm pistol in his possession on Jan. 26 in Salem when he was prohibited from having a weapon due to a previous felony conviction.