Common Pleas

New Cases

SMB Private Education Loan Grantor Trust, Newark, Del. vs. Andrew M. Schach, North Main Street, Columbiana, et al.; collection sought of alleged $36,036 debt.

JPMorgan Chase Bank, Wilmington, Del. vs. Amanda Fraser, Sprucevale Road, East Liverpool; collection sought of alleged $18,619 debt.

LVNV Funding LLC, Greenville, S.C., vs. Eric Erskine, Lexington Avenue, Salem; collection sought of alleged $30,404 debt.

Docket Entries

JPMorgan Chase Bank vs. Joseph Cataldo Jr., et al.; foreclosure judgment vacated, case dismissed.

Court News

LISBON — A man accused of misusing a woman’s debit card and stealing money from her entered a guilty plea to two fourth-degree felony charges recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court.

David C. Gouge, 49, McKinley Avenue, Lisbon, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felonies of theft from a person in a protected class and misuse of credit cards. A fourth-degree felony charge of telecommunications fraud will be dismissed.

Sentencing was set for April 16.

According to the indictment, Gouge was accused of stealing $3,200 from an elderly victim and misusing the victim’s debit card on Sept. 30, 2022. According to the plea agreement, the prosecution will be requesting he pay restitution of $3,200 to the victim’s estate as part of the sentence, along with being placed under community control with a requirement for local jail time.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Georgeann Railing, 49, East Liverpool Road, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanor possession of drugs, with sentencing set for April 16. A second-degree felony charge of trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound will be dismissed. The charge for possession of fentanyl was originally a second-degree felony. She was originally accused of preparing to sell and possessing fentanyl in an amount equal or greater than 10 grams but less than 20 grams and also possessing xylazine on March 17, 2024.

— Knowledgeborn F.J. Price, 50, Pennsylvania Avenue, East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them and fifth-degree felony improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, with sentencing set for April 13. A third-degree felony charge of having weapons under disability and a fourth-degree felony OVI charge will be dismissed. The charges stemmed from a traffic stop April 7, 2024 in East Liverpool when Price possessed a loaded gun and was under the influence. Due to a previous conviction, he’s prohibited from having a gun.

— Nathan P. Holcomb, 24, Sunnyside Street, East Liverpool, was ordered to serve up to six months at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville and was sentenced to community control until April 10, 2027 after violating the terms of his intervention plan for possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies. His intervention plan was dishonorably terminated. He possessed cocaine and amphetamine on May 10, 2024.

— Jonathan J. Oglesby, 44, Shelby, N.C., was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser-included offense of attempted failure to register, a fourth-degree felony. He received credit for 138 days already served in jail. Oglesby was originally charged with a third-degree felony of failure to register. He was accused of failing to register his address with the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office for the sex offender registration when he was living in the county on Aug. 1, 2021.

— Pamela S. Risbeck, 50, Trinity Church Road, Lisbon, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for April 17. Risbeck possessed cocaine on Oct. 20, 2021.