STEUBENVILLE — Fourteen people were indicted Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury, including a Mingo Junction couple who allegedly had methamphetamine and cocaine in a house where three young children were living.
A total of 15 indictments were returned by grand jurors, two of them against the same man.
Travis L. Bush, 35, and his female companion, Samantha Irene Leandry, both of 233 Hallock Ave., Mingo Junction, were indicted separately in connection with a shots fired call on April 16.
Bush’s four-count indictment charges him with having weapons under disability, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs, all felonies, plus a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment.
Leandry, 30, faces charges of possessing cocaine, a felony, along with misdemeanor child endangerment.
Officers responding to a shots fired call from the Hallock Avenue neighborhood April 16 said a witness pointed them to Bush’s home as the source of the gunfire and claimed when Leandry opened the door, she had a gun in hand that she said was for protection. Police reported finding drugs and bullet holes in the wall of the kitchen, and said Bush was taken into custody after he fell through the floor of the attic, where they said he’d been hiding.
Both Leandry and Bush were charged with possessing the drugs found in the home, but Bush faces two additional drug charges because of drugs allegedly found on his person at the scene and when he was being booked into the county jail. He also was charged with having a weapon under disability because he’d been barred from owning or using guns after a 2017 felony conviction for robbery in Washinton County, Pa.
Also ordered to stand trial were:
• Lloyd Allen Moore, 111 Steuben St., Brilliant, felonious assault and intimidation of an attorney, victim or witness in a criminal case, on July 7.
Authorities report an aggravated menacing charge against Moore, 53, was pending in Dillonvale County Court when he spotted the alleged victim and his family at a campsite and “veered off the road and clipped the guy on his knee with the car.” The victim was not seriously injured but Moore had been warned to stay away from the other man until the county court case was resolved, they said.
The indictment states Moore “knowingly caused or attempted to cause physical harm” to the victim with his automobile as an act of intimidation.
• Justin Tyler Butler, 29, 132 West Steubenvile St., Bloomingdale, two separate indictments charging him with violating a protection order Feb. 2, and trespassing in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, June 30. Both are felonies.
Authorities allege Butler had been ordered not to have contact with two victims in a previous case but was caught calling them from jail, in violation of the court order.
The trespassing charge stems from an incident at the home of a family member he was not supposed to have contact with. He allegedly pushed a window fan aside and entered the residence while the homeowner was away, then opened the door so a woman who was outside the home could come inside. When the homeowner arrived home, she found Butler and his female companion sleeping in her bed.
The woman told police she was unaware he wasn’t allowed in the residence so she wasn’t charged.
• Davon Kaseem Jones, 811 Efts Lane, Steubenville, retaliation, a felony.
Authorities said Jones, 44, didn’t have a valid license and had no way home when the driver of the vehicle he was in was arrested May 7 in Steubenville. The officer said he offered to give Jones a ride home or call his girlfriend to come get him but alleges Jones instead became belligerent. He ended up under arrest and while he was being booked into the county jail allegedly threatened to kill the officer.
• Rodney Joe Butto, 64, 3633 Orchard St., Weirton, aggravated possession of drugs, a felony.
Butto, 64, was a passenger in a vehicle operated by a family member who was pulled over June 22. After learning neither of them had a valid driver’s license, the arresting officer said he asked both of them to exit the car and when they did, he allegedly spotted a “golfball-sized amount of methamphetamine” in a bag. Butto initially told police the drugs weren’t his, but authorities allege two other bags of methamphetamine were also found in the pocket of his cargo pants.
• Devin Lemoine Smith, 37, 544 Highland Ave., Steubenville, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs, all felonies.
Authorities allege Steubenville police found Smith “slumped over” in his car June 9 with the engine running, a bag of drugs in his lap and more stuffed in his socks.
According to the indictment, Smith had more than 20 grams of a fentanyl-related compound and more than 20 grams of cocaine in his possession when he was taken into custody, along with an unspecified amount of methamphetamine.
Prosecutors want the court to order Smith to forfeit $3,126 he had in his possession at the time of his arrest.
• Lonnie Lee Smith Jr., 43, no fixed address, having weapons while under disability, tampering with evidence and possession of cocaine, all felonies.
Authorities said city police were helping U.S. Marshals search for a wanted person when an officer positioned outside Maryland Market saw a male running toward him holding his hoodie pocket and what appeared to be a handgun. The officer said he chased Smith and allegedly saw him “throw something over a fence,” and after taking him into custody they recovered a gun.
According to the indictment, Smith is prohibited from owning or using guns due to three prior felony drug convictions in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court — trafficking drugs in March 2017, trafficking drugs with a school specification in August 2013 and two counts of trafficking cocaine, in December 2004.
• Brandie Leyna Zimmerman, 41, 467 S. Seventh St., operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two, a felony, on Feb. 18. The charge was elevated to a felony due to three prior convictions for OVI in Steubenville Municipal Court in 2014, 2016 and 2021.
• Thomas Miller, 3785 State Route 151, Mingo Junction, felony domestic violence, April 3. The indictment states the victim, a family member, reported a disturbance involving Miller, 40. The indictments noted Miller has two previous convictions for domestic battery involving the victim’s deceased sister — in 2007 and 2008 in Harrison County, WV.
• James Edwin White, 62, 996 McKinley Ave., Steubenville, misdemeanor littering on April 29. White was allegedly caught on video pulling up to a Tweed Avenue location with a trailer loaded with material, then leaving not long after with it empty. Deputies allegedly located tires and construction materials that had been dumped on the side of the road.
• Bruce A. Riley Jr., 1120 Lincoln Ave., Steubenville, improperly furnishing firearms to a minor. Riley, 25, allegedly gave a 19-year-old a gun that was later used in a crime. Authorities maintain the gun was purchased by Riley but the teenager was caught on tape telling a caller “he got it from Bruce.”
The 19-year-old allegedly used the gun to fire shots at a van.
• Luke Andrew Magee, 38, 6021 Brocade Rd. SE, Amsterdam, grand theft of a motor vehicle and breaking and entering, both felonies, plus misdemeanor theft.
Magee allegedly had escaped from Eastern Ohio Correctional Center in June and made his way to the Rance Industry property on State Route 43, where sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported breaking and entering. The owner said several employees who live at the site reported a pair of boots and $500 in cash were stolen, along with a company vehicle that was driven off site but returned the following morning. Deputies located the key concealed in a cigarette pack that had been in Magee’s possession when he was arrested.
Grand jurors also amended an indictment returned in June against Kenny Emerson Shepard, 39, 87674 Sinfield Rd., Steubenville, adding a weapons under disability charge. Shepard originally had been charged with aggravated possession of drugs, possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence.
Authorities said the gun violation was added after they found identifiers on a round they found in the chamber of a gun they recovered that they say proves Shepard had handled it. He is prohibited from having or using guns due to a November 2023 conviction in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court for aggravated assault.
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