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Jacquin Boston
Jason Mencer
Justin Cowser
Michaelis Forster
STEUBENVILLE -- A 28-year-old Steubenville man has been ordered to stand trial for the June 21 murder of a homeless man.
The Jefferson County grand jury returned a total of eight indictments Wednesday, including a two-count true bill charging Michael Maurice Forster, 3126 state Route 213, with the murder of 44-year-old Terald "Tink" Herring last month at Pennsylvania Avenue and Carnegie Street. Herring had been shot multiple times, city officials had said.
Others indicted include a Steubenville man who allegedly impersonated a police officer and kidnapped a neighbor's child; an Amsterdam man charged with having sexual contact with a teen; a Milwaukee fugitive from justice and shooting victim who was reportedly caught on a security camera discharging his weapon and a Steubenville man who allegedly had a smorgasbord of drugs in his home when they raided it in May.
Forster's murder indictment includes specifications alleging he used a firearm in commission of the crime and fired the weapon from a car. A second count charges him with firing the gun over a public roadway.
A five-count indictment charged Jason Lee Mencer, 1867 state Route 213, Steubenville, with three counts of kidnapping, one count of abduction and one count of impersonating a police officer. All are felonies.
Mencer, 41, allegedly grabbed a 2-year-old and took off running into the woods after a dispute with the child's father June 5 in Island Creek township. The father had told Jefferson County sheriff's deputies Mencer was knocking trees down on his property and when he told him to stop, he first portrayed himself as a police offer and then said he was there on behalf of AEP.
He eventually left, but the father alleges he returned minutes later, yelling and out-of-control and snatched the boy up. He'd told deputies Mencer ran into the woods carrying his son but tripped, dropping the boy and then falling himself. He'd told deputies he then fell on Mencer and they'd traded blows. Deputies also interviewed the toddler, who reportedly told them "the monster came after daddy" and said the monster had also touched him.
Also indicted:
* Brandon J. Steward, 2651 N. Palmer St., Milwaukee, felonious assault with a firearm specification, possession of drugs with a forfeiture specification and having weapons under disability.
Steward, 28, allegedly was caught on camera firing shots in downtown Steubenville May 25. While he didn't hit anyone, police said he himself was wounded and required treatment at Trinity Medical Center West.
While en route to the hospital, police confirmed he was a fugitive from justice in Minnesota on a drug trafficking charge, which prohibits him from having guns in his possession. Medical personnel also allegedly found a bag containing cocaine on him as well as $2,467 in cash, which the state wants Steward to forfeit.
*Christopher J. Monigold, 33, 30 Springfield Township Road 308, Amsterdam, one count of sexual battery. The indictment charges Monigold had sexual contact with a female under the age of 16.
* Justin John Cowser, 17 Sunny Acres Drive, Wintersville, two counts of aggravated vehicular assault with additional findings of injury to another, two counts of aggravated vehicular assault with additional findings of injury to another, and one count endangering children, all felonies, and one misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Cowser, 38, allegedly was under the influence of benzodiazapene when he crashed his car into a vehicle making a left at the intersection of Lovers Lane and Sunset Boulevard May 21. A toddler in his vehicle and an adult in the other car were both seriously hurt, the indictment alleged. Cowser was driving under suspension, police had said.
* Jaquin Rasaan Boston, 31, 473 South Fifth St., Steubenville, five felony counts of possession, all but one of them carrying a specification that he should be treated as a major drug offender.
The indictment alleges Boston had 133 grams of cocaine, 85 grams of crack, 300 grams of methamphetamine and 100 grams of fentanyl in his possession when the Jefferson County Drug Task Force, assisted by Steubenville police and Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, took him into custody May 10 in Steubenville.
A fifth count alleges Boston also possessed 50 grams of heroin at the time of his arrest.
* Rashade D. Stevenson, 34, 506 Grandview Ave., Steubenville, possession of cocaine, Feb. 13 in Steubenville.
* Thomas J. Hamilton-Smith, 753 Kendall Ave., Steubenville, having weapons under disability.
Hamilton-Smith, 43, allegedly had a .22 Ruger rifle in his possession in March despite a prior conviction for aggravated burglary and felony domestic violence in December 2012 in Washington, D.C.