Common Pleas

New Cases

County Treasurer, Lisbon, vs. Karyn Dawn Locke, North Street, East Liverpool; delinquent property tax foreclosure sought for Canton Street, East Liverpool property.

Melissa L. Harris, Park Avenue, East Palestine, vs. Steve B. Harris, Steubenville; divorce sought.

Pamela Boratyn, Director, Ohio Department of Transportation, Columbus, vs. unknown heirs, etc. of George W. Ward Sr., deceased, addresses unknown, et al.; appropriation of two parcels along U.S. Route 30, Columbiana County, sought of 0.020 of acre and 0.109 of an acre for $493 for repairs/improvement of road.

Jon M Rea, Struthers, vs. G. Jones Construction LLC, Youngstown, and Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation; appeal of claim denial.

Capital One, N.A., Columbus, vs. John R. Neer, Ashland Avenue, East Liverpool; collection sought of alleged $15,902 debt.

Docket Entries

County Treasurer vs. Raymond W. Koch, et al.; TotalEnergies E & P USA, Inc. dismissed as defendant.

Grand Jury

LISBON — Three drug defendants were served Wednesday with secret indictments issued by the Columbiana County Grand Jury, including:

— Patrick A. Doss, 41, state Route 14, Columbiana, aggravated possession of drugs. a fifth-degree felony, and aggravated trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing and preparing for sale tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) on Sept. 24, 2025.

— Devon H. Jones, 33, Cleveland, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, a fourth-degree felony, and possession of cocaine, a fifth-degree felony, for alleged possessing fentanyl and cocaine on June 27, 2025.

— Travis R. McKinnon, 48, Fairview, East Liverpool, possession of fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly possessing fentanyl on Sept. 10, 2023.

Court News

LISBON — A Washingtonville man found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2024 for felonious assault and other charges will be evaluated again to see if conditional release remains appropriate.

Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton recently ordered the evaluation by the Forensic Psychiatric Center of Northeast Ohio, with a review hearing still set for June 22.

David Kirby, 34, West Main Street, appeared in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court last year for a review hearing regarding the conditional release, with Bickerton noting he was still a mentally ill person.

At that time, she found that the least restrictive commitment alternative available consistent with the welfare of the aquittee and public safety remained conditional release to the community with continued mental health treatment.

Kirby had been accused of attacking a sheriff’s deputy on a call in Salem Township and then a corrections officer at the Columbiana County Jail after his arrest in 2024. He was charged with felonious assault, a first-degree felony, fourth-degree felony assault and misdemeanor resisting arrest for allegedly striking the deputy in the face multiple times and attempting to cause physical harm by means of a metal ink pen after being caught trespassing near a pond March 12, 2024 on a Salem Township property. While being taken to the ground, he allegedly continued to throw punches at the deputy and resisted by pulling out the taser barbs after being tased.

He was also charged with assault, a fifth-degree felony, for the incident on March 13, 2024 against a corrections officer at the county jail.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— The secret indictment just served on David J. Brown, 46, Cleveland, for nonsupport of dependents was dismissed at the request of the prosecution. A motion filed by the prosecution said additional information was received that requires investigation before proceeding to charges. Brown had been accused of allegedly failing to pay child support from Feb. 11, 2024 to Feb. 8, 2026.