STEUBENVILLE — A man who allegedly led police on a high-speed chase through Labelle to University Boulevard and two mothers who allegedly had young children with them when drugs were being trafficked were among the eight people indicted Wednesday by the October term of the Jefferson County grand jury.
Grand jurors also amended indictments against a husband and wife originally indicted six months ago for aggravated burglary.
Ordered to stand trial on a charge of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, was Brian Fazsuan Jones, 1416 Ridge Ave., Steubenville.
The felony indictment alleges Jones, 31, “caused a substantial risk of serious physical harm to persons or property” on Sept. 2 by trying to flee police attempting to take him into custody.
Authorities suggest Jones led “almost all” of Steubenville police on a chase through town. Authorities said they terminated the pursuit because of the risk to the public and themselves, but they were able to use surveillance footage culled from various sources to identify the driver as Jones.
Grand jurors also indicted Brooklyn Doty, 99 Smithfield St., Dillonvale, on charges of complicity in the commission of an offense, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of endangering children.
Doty, 29, allegedly created a “substantial risk to the health and safety” of a 2-year-old child by allowing an individual, identified in the indictment as Perry Lee Leasure, “to knowingly sell or offer to sell” a fentanyl-related compound March 29 with the child present. Leasure has been charged but not indicted, prosecutors said.
Authorities said the child was removed from Doty’s care.
Another mother, Jaimee Shenea Bing, 39, 1333 Euclid Ave., Apt. D, Steubenville, was named in four felony counts of trafficking a fentanyl-related compound.
The indictment alleges Bing sold or offered to sell a fentanyl-related compound to a confidential informant on four separate occasions from December 2022 through February. Authorities maintain Bing had a child in the car with her on at least two of those occasions, so the charges were enhanced.
Also indicted were:
• Kaleb Christian Welshans, 26 Peterson St., Avella, aggravated vehicular assault and endangering children both felonies, along with misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle under the influence and driving under suspension.
The indictment alleges Welshans, 32, was under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both when he drove his 2008 Chevy pickup off the side of Wellseley Avenue in Steubenville and rolled it over, ending right side up. The indictment points out Welshans’ license had previously been suspended and that he and a female companion had a 4-year-old in the truck with them.
• Sara Danyelle Kushner, 35, 101 township Road 1181, Dillonvale, aggravated possession of drugs and having weapons under disability, both felonies. The indictment alleges Kushner had methamphetamine and a gun in her possession when she was taken into custody May 31.
• Clifford David Garrison, 1344 Wilson Ave., Steubenville, felonious assault, retaliation, possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence, all felonies, along with a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.
The indictment states Garrison “did knowingly cause serious physical harm” to a woman Jan. 22 and, when police attempted to take him into custody, fled. Authorities allege as he fled, Garrison “threw an item on the hood of a car that ended up being cocaine” and that when he was taken to the hospital he threatened to kill the arresting officer.
• Richard Henry Carter, 52, 8417 county Road 22A, Bloomingdale, five felony counts of theft by deception.
The indictment alleges a county resident paid Carter, a contractor, more than $9,800 for home improvements between October 2022 and March 2023, but the materials were never ordered and the work was never done.
• Remaro Ray Gracia, 966 county Road 18, Rayland, domestic violence, a felony, and misdemeanor assault.
Authorities allege Gracia, 52, beat a woman, pulled out a chunk of her hair and left her with bruises “up and down her arms” on Aug. 21. According to the indictment, Gracia has at least two prior felony convictions for domestic violence — in 1999 and again in 2003, when he knew the victim was pregnant, both in Stark County.
Three amended indictments were returned — two of them against Stacey Lynn Shepard, 23, of 87674 Sinfield Road, Hopedale, and the third indictment against her husband, Kenny Emerson Shepard, 38, at the same address.
The amended indictments add assault to the charges levied against the Shepards.
Grand jurors had previously ordered the pair to stand trial for aggravated burglary and complicity in the commission of an offense. On that occasion, police had alleged the pair entered a downtown Steubenville residence and assaulted the homeowner and his wife.
That same April grand jury had also indicted Stacey Shepard in connection with a Feb. 7 incident at a residence on Main Street. At the time, city police reported she dragged the homeowner out of the house by her hair and punched her, all in the presence of a child.
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