Grand Jury

LISBON — An East Palestine man accused of uploading videos of children being sexual assaulted or engaging in sex acts will face 18 felony counts related to his alleged possession of the material.

Austin Michael Bowers, 30, North Market Street, was one of 12 defendants openly indicted by the Columbiana County Grand Jury this week. The grand jury met for two days and issued the dozen open indictments and 33 secret indictments for a total of 45 cases. Secret indictments aren’t made public until the defendants are served with the paperwork.

Bowers was charged with three counts of pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, a second-degree felony, 11 counts of fourth-degree felony pandering obscenity involving a minor or impaired person and four counts of fifth-degree felony illegal use of minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material or performance.

According to an affidavit that was issued in county Municipal Court when the case was originally filed against Bowers, on Aug. 21, 2025, he was allegedly flagged by Dropbox for allegedly uploading a video depicting a child being sexually assaulted by an adult male to their platform. Another company also flagged a video allegedly transmitted by the defendant through their platform which also depicted a juvenile girl under the age of 18 engaging in sex acts with a man. The three second-degree counts of the indictment all stem from Aug. 21, 2025.

The rest of the counts in the indictment all stem from March 18 this year when investigators executed a search warrant at his East Palestine home.

Other open indictments issued included:

— Marcus Lee White, 43, Mulberry Street, East Liverpool, felonious assault, a second-degree felony and fourth-degree felony domestic violence for allegedly causing serious physical harm to another man, striking the victim in the head multiple times while punching him and kicking him, rendering the victim unconscious as police and EMS arrived on March 25 in East Liverpool.

— Terry M. McDaniel, 30, Alliance Sebring Road, Alliance, fifth-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault for allegedly punching another man in the face with a closed fist and placing him in a chokehold, causing him to struggle to breathe and speak on April 21 in Lisbon.

— Kazon Latif Carter, 26, Youngstown, third-degree felony strangulation and misdemeanors of theft, domestic violence and criminal damaging for allegedly grabbing a woman by the throat and beginning to strangle her on Sept. 15, 2025 in East Liverpool. The affidavit said the victim struggled to breathe and blacked out. Carter was also yelling at her and after the assault, he slammed his head against the wall, breaking a large hole in the drywall. He also allegedly stole her cell phone.

— Kevin S. Neely, 44, state Route 45, Lisbon, second-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs, and fourth-degree felonies of possession of cocaine and domestic violence for allegedly spitting on a woman several times, pushing her several times at one point against a glass door, throwing a bottle of soda at her and threatening her on Feb. 17 in Lisbon. He also allegedly possessed methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than five times bulk but less than 50 times bulk and 1 to 5 grams cocaine.

— Amber Price Yatro, 55, Bloomfield Road, East Liverpool, breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly breaking into a man’s storage unit in St. Clair Township by prying open the wall between her unit and his to remove items on April 22 at Bolt Storage.

— Aaron J. Soxman, 47, Apollo, Pa., charged with fifth-degree felony improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, and misdemeanors of endangering children, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them-OVI, improper handling firearms in a motor vehicle and criminal damaging for allegedly having a loaded firearm and a child in the vehicle he was operating while impaired on Feb. 13 in Columbiana. He also allegedly damaged a chair at the Columbiana Police station.

— Jonathan Neal Gardner, 34, Duke Vodrey Road, East Liverpool, fifth-degree felony vandalism, fourth-degree felony assault and misdemeanor obstructing official business for allegedly refusing to comply with police orders during a traffic stop on April 22 in East Liverpool, then kicking at a police officer when being placed in the back of a cruiser. He also was kicking the door of the cruiser and window during transport to the jail, attempting to break out. The door was damaged.

— Charles A. DiPalma, 38, Steubenville, theft, a fifth-degree felony, for allegedly failing to return a vehicle to a rental company from Feb. 15, 2026 to April 4, 2026.

— Ronald L. Keller, 52, Rochester Road, East Rochester, misdemeanor theft for allegedly stealing use of a rental vehicle from March 30, 2026 to April 6, 2026, with his case transferred back to Columbiana County Municipal Court.

— Reggie Scott Milton, 44, Akron, fifth-degree felony aggravated possession of drugs and misdemeanors of disorderly conduct and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly walking in the street yelling for help and talking to himself late at night on Nov. 5, 2025 in Hanover Township. He was allegedly seen throwing a plastic bag on the ground containing a white substance which was positive for methamphetamine and also possessed a charred glass pipe known as a meth bubble in his vehicle.

— Shawn L. Paulin Sr., 47, Van Buren Avenue, Salem, misdemeanors of resisting arrest and obstructing official business for allegedly pulling away from police officers during his arrest for a domestic violence incident on April 23 in Perry Township and refused to sit after being carried to the police cruiser and tried to jump out of the car. His case was ordered transferred back to Columbiana County Municipal Court.

Court News

LISBON — An East Liverpool man accused of having sexual contact with a child, starting when the child was 6 and continuing until the child was 15 years old, entered a guilty plea to one count of gross sexual imposition.

Shawn M. McKinnon, 31, Minerva Street, East Liverpool, will face sentencing in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court on Aug. 24 for the third-degree felony charge. Seven counts of third-degree felony gross sexual imposition and one count of fourth-degree felony gross sexual imposition will be dismissed.

The eight counts stemmed from sexual contact with the child from Feb. 4, 2013 to Feb. 3, 2020, with the fourth-degree felony stemming from sexual contact beginning Feb. 4, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2022.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Willie Lashurn Hill Jr., 19, Struthers, pleaded guilty to two counts of complicity in the commission of an offense, both fourth-degree felonies, and receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony, with sentencing set for Aug. 6. Hill was accused of aiding and abetting another in the theft of a motor vehicle and for possessing a stolen license plate on Jan. 26, 2025.

— Robyn Wornoff, 37, Garfield Heights, was placed under an intervention plan for 18 months after pleading guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing methamphetamine on June 17, 2025.

— Taylor Vidmar, 31, Monaca, Pa., was placed on an intervention plan for two years after pleading guilty to theft and unauthorized use of computer, cable or telecommunications property, both fifth-degree felonies, for depriving Walmart of $2,227 from Feb. 7, 2020 to March 20, 2020.

— Katrina J. Clarke, 34, Moore Road, East Liverpool, was placed under community control after violating the terms of her treatment plan, which was terminated, for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and illegal possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, for possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia on Aug. 23, 2023.

— Mary G. Hamilton, 36, Lisa Lane, Lisbon, was sentenced to 120 days in the county jail, with credit for 68 days, leaving 52 days still to serve after pleading guilty to aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony, for possessing methamphetamine on Sept. 27, 2025.

— A Wellsville man convicted of trying to hit a woman with a vehicle during a domestic in 2024 was sentenced to 12 months in prison for violating the terms of his probation. Tyler J. Corbisello, 31, 10th Street Extension, appeared recently in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court for a probation revocation hearing due to violating the terms of his community control, also known as probation, which was then dishonorably terminated.

Charges against Corbisello included third-degree felony strangulation, fifth-degree felony attempted vehicular assault (lesser offense of felonious assault, a second-degree felony) and misdemeanor domestic violence for trying to physically harm the woman with a vehicle, striking her multiple times on the back of her head and choking her during a physical altercation March 3, 2024 in Salineville.

The prison sentence was ordered served at the same time as the seven-month term he received recently for a fifth-degree felony of possession of a fentanyl-related compound for possessing fentanyl in 2023.

Also in Common Pleas Court:

— Benny Ray Miley Jr., 36, Cleveland, pleaded guilty to lesser offenses of third-degree felony attempted aggravated possession of drugs and attempted possession of a fentanyl-related compound, third-degree felony possession of cocaine, fifth-degree felony possession of drugs and a forfeiture specification, with sentencing set for Aug. 27. Miley was originally charged with second-degree felonies of aggravated possession of drugs, trafficking in a fentanyl-related and possession of a fentanyl-related compound. Four trafficking charges and a charge of operating a vehicle with a hidden compartment used to transport a controlled substance will be dismissed.

The indictment said that on June 25, 2025, Miley allegedly trafficked and possessed methamphetamine in an amount equal or greater than five times bulk but less than 50 times bulk, both fentanyl and cocaine in amounts equal or greater than 10 grams but less than 20 grams, and xylazine. The indictment also included specifications for forfeiture of money from a drug case for $775 Miley allegedly possessed and the charge for allegedly having a hidden compartment in the vehicle.