Police reports

Jun 7, 2023

Weirton Police

Charged: Cynthia Boni, 61, 155 Stuart Drive, Wintersville, embezzlement, May 31. Boni allegedly claimed an additional 600 hours in paid time off for herself, amounting to $11,520, while handling payroll for a local business.

Brooke County Sheriff

Charged: Robert A. Baker, 52, 1458 Grand Ave., Wellsburg, strangulation, Sunday. A woman known to Baker told police he attempted to strangle her before she was able to flee. Sheriff's deputies observed bruising to her neck, face and body.

Charged: Chris A. Bryan, 21, 93 Cunningham Lane, Wellsburg, possession of a controlled substance and defective equipment, Sunday.

Charged: Ricky L. Tingler, 50, Beech Bottom, possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence, Sunday.

Charged: Jess L. Coen, 31, 18 Lennon Lane, Wellsburg, possession of a controlled substance and driving while suspended, Sunday.

Steubenville Police

Troubled teens: Two underage girls transported to Trinity Medical Center West for treatment after an apparent overdose were fighting with staff, Monday. Police said they helped emergency department personnel restrain the two juveniles so they could be medicated.

Gone awry: A Market Square resident told police she went to Pittsburgh with another individual to celebrate her birthday over the weekend and ended up getting punched in the eye by that individual, Monday. She said she left the individual stranded in Pittsburgh and came home, but on Sunday the person showed up at her residence and was seen on surveillance footage stomping her flower bed.

Bully: A woman who’d finished work said when she got home her child's father started an argument that turned physical, Monday. She said he started punching her in the face and head, then tackled her from behind when she tried to exit the residence, knocking her into the door frame. Police said she injured her shoulder and had multiple visible wounds on her head, face, shoulder, neck, chest and back, and told her they were filing domestic violence charges on her behalf. She told them he "fled back to Alabama when she (told him) she was contacting the police."

Starting young: A Sunset Boulevard business reported two fleeing shoplifters, Monday. Police located two females matching the description employees gave them and said both were juveniles. One was arrested on a theft charge and released to her mother.

Fraudster: A man ordered an item from a local coffee shop and paid the clerk with a large bill, then when he received his change pulled more money from his pocket, Monday. Police said the male then began a series of exchanges to receive smaller bills and ended up leaving the store with all of his original change and the money he exchanged for it, totaling $154.

Booked: Shantel Birden, 29, 805 Market St., Apt H, Steubenville, assault;

Cited: John E. Gentile, 50, 1905 Oregon Ave., Steubenville, speeding; police continue to ticket people for parking violations in the downtown business district, including the owner of a vehicle parked on a yellow line cited for prohibited parking places. Several drivers caught with their cell phones in hand were warned for distracted driving, Monday.

Jefferson County Sheriff

Block party: A Wilson Avenue resident said he's missing cinder blocks and thought neighbor kids might have taken them because they had recently built a fire pit out of cinder blocks and other neighbors had told him they saw the kids dragging something from his property, Saturday. Deputies talked to the kids’ mother who said they’d found them on Seventh Street and complained that the caller had pounded on her door" so loud that it woke up her baby." Both parties were advised to stay on their own property.

Payback: A man living on township Road 281, Steubenville, said his ex-girlfriend is causing him problems, May 29. He said they’d shared a residence since 2018 but he moved out about a month ago for his safety, telling deputies they’d experienced relationship issues and she’d assaulted him and he feared he would get in trouble because he's on probation so he left. He said he’d still had access to the property when she wasn't there, but she changed the locks on the garage that morning and he wasn't able to access the tools he needs for work. He said some personal items had also gone missing from the home, which he said wasn't in either of their names. He was advised to pursue a legal resolution in court and find out if he can have her evicted.

Punch drunk: A Two Ridge Road resident told deputies a man showed at her apartment, holding a beer and pounding on the door Saturday. She said the man appeared "heavily under the influence of alcohol," and when asked to leave threatened to" punch (her stepfather) in the face and wanted to fight him." He left after deputies were called. She told deputies he’d previously been banned from the property.

Porch party: A Wintersville resident reported juveniles drinking on the porch of a neighbor's house, but deputies checked the area and found nothing suspicious, Friday.

Bad news travels fast: A family dispute was reported at a residence in Mingo Junction, Friday. The caller said he and his wife were evicting people from a building behind their property and a short time later, two vehicles arrived "with a large number of people" to talk about the eviction, with one of them brandishing a firearm. They identified the woman who was there, but she told deputies she’d been at McDonald's with her kids and denied a man they were looking for was in her house, though one of her kids heard the conversation and contradicted her. Deputies didn't have probable cause to search her house.

Hit it: A motorist backed into a camper at Austin Lake Campground, knocking the occupant out of her bed and onto the floor, Saturday. The occupant said she was uninjured and declined treatment. The motorist said there were children playing nearby and her attention was fixed on them, and she didn't notice how close she was getting to the camper.

Stiffed: A TIltonsville man claimed his brother broke his ribs and fled the scene, Saturday. He said his brother showed up at his home, "yelling and making threats," admitting he’d borrowed money from his brother a week ago and his brother wanted it back. He said he told his brother he’d pay him as soon as he could, but his brother wasn't happy about it but left when he called police. His brother said he got upset when the caller told him he didn't have the money to pay him back and they started arguing. He said he never touched the caller, "but he was upset and said some things he shouldn't of." Deputies told him his brother didn't want him at his home anymore.

Collecting on debt: A Toronto man asked deputies to ban a man from his property who’d gone there to collect money that was owed to a Steubenville business, Thursday. The homeowner said the man wasn't in a company car and demanded payments that he claimed he’d already spoken to the business. Deputies spoke with a supervisor who confirmed an individual had gone to the Toronto property to collect the $1,100 the business is owed for the two missed payments. Deputies explained it's a civil issue and would need to be resolved in small claims court and the man shouldn't return to the property.

Big booms: A caller reported hearing explosions in the vicinity of Rayland Park, Sunday. He said it's been happening every few hours for the past few days, and when he spoke with neighbors, they knew nothing about it. A deputy checked the area but didn't find anything suspicious.

Irritating: A Christopher Avenue, Wintersville, resident said someone was banging on the side of her house, but no one was there when deputies arrived, Sunday. Neighbors said they saw several juveniles running around prior to the 9-1-1 call.

Booked: Deputies stood by on an Ohio State Highway Patrol traffic stop on U.S. Route 22 west and John Scott Highway that ended with a Wintersville man being taken into custody, Saturday. Dwight Anthony Dwyer, 45, 100 Powells Lane, Wintersville, was booked into the Jefferson County jail on a charge of possessing a defaced firearm and also cited for operating a vehicle under the influence, deputies said. The serial number on a gun Dwyer allegedly had in his possession was removed, they said.

Cited: Jennifer Blackburn, 240 Stardust Drive, Steubenville, seat belt violation.

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