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Jefferson grand jury hands down indictments

STEUBENVILLE — A man wanted in connection with a Nov. 9 shooting in the 600 block of Oakmont Avenue was indicted Wednesday, even though he remains at large.

Sir Dameon Lee Harris, 38, 1405 Oakgrove Ave., Steubenville, was named in a two-count indictment charging him with felonious assault with a firearm specification and having weapons under disability, one of 19 people indicted Wednesday by the Jefferson County grand jury.

Harris, 39, allegedly shot 25-year-old Michael Jett Jr. once in the upper back Nov. 9. Jett, flown to a Pittsburgh hospital, had told police he looked up and Harris was pointing a gun at him. A convicted felon, Harris, is prohibited from having guns.

Harris remains at large and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.

Grand jurors also returned true bills against three people allegedly involved in a shooting incident Oct. 10 in the 200 block of McLister Avenue in Mingo Junction.

Jeno L.A.R. “Lamar” Wall, 31, 1509 Foster Place, Steubenville, and Jeriel L. “Je Rae” Harrison, 36, 1755 Maple Ave., Wellsville, were indicted separately on felony charges of discharging a firearm on or over a public road with firearm specifications. Harrison also was indicted on a single count of having weapons while under disability, also a felony.

A third individual, Mya “Maya” Nicole Taylor, 220 McLister Ave., Mingo Junction, was indicted on charges of obstructing justice, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of falsification.

Authorities said no one was injured, but several vehicles were reportedly struck by the gunfire.

Mingo Junction Police had said Harrison was dating a female living on McLister Avenue and reportedly flew into a rage when he came to town to check on her and found out she’d overdosed. The girlfriend was revived with Naloxone, but Police Chief Willie McKenzie had said Harrison got into an argument with individuals in a nearby house, “(and) once they exited the residence and got back in their vehicle, that’s when shots were fired from their vehicle, they were believed to be aimed toward the other males.”

Taylor, 22, allegedly communicated false information to Mingo Junction Police in an effort to hinder apprehension of a 17-year-old in connection with the case. Prosecutors allege Taylor gave the juvenile a gun he used to return fire at Wall and Harrison.

Others indicted were:

— Steven V. Street, six counts of aggravated arson, all felonies, and misdemeanor counts of arson and criminal damaging.

Street, 62, allegedly put a Molotov cocktail on the porch of a Richmond residence while the homeowner, his wife and three children slept inside.

— John T. Wise, 434 Lawson Ave., felony possession of drugs with a major drug offender specification, along with felony counts of drug possession, having weapons under disability and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle. Wise also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and failure to stop after an accident.

Wise, 33, allegedly had more than 100 grams of cocaine in his possession when he was pulled over after a hit-skip accident Oct. 31 in Steubenville.

A man parked in the 100 block of North Sixth Street had told police a motorist was so busy yelling at someone in another vehicle that he backed into his vehicle, then fled the scene. In addition to the drugs, police report finding a loaded and chambered .45 caliber Springfield handgun in the center console of Wises’ vehicle when they pulled him over minutes later.

Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said a conviction under a major drug offender specification carries a mandatory 11-year prison sentence.

— Devon Joel Bellum, 34, 325 Fernwood Drive, Wintersville, three counts of having weapons while under disability, carrying a concealed weapon with additional findings that the gun was loaded and within his reach, tampering with evidence and possession of drugs, all felonies. Bellum also faces a misdemeanor count of aggravated menacing.

The charges stem from an Oct. 23 fight at a McLister Avenue bar. Bellum allegedly punched a man, then pulled a gun on the other man before fleeing the scene when he found out police were on the way. Bellum was spotted returning to his car outside a Grandview Avenue residence and taken into custody.

Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies said the homeowner told them Bellum came to his door but when he realized he was drunk, he turned him away and gave authorities permission to search his porch, where they found a black and silver Smith & Wesson pistol.

The indictment alleges Bellum, convicted of trafficking drugs in 2008 and felony drug possession in 2013 and 2015, is prohibited from having a firearm, and that he had a loaded handgun in his possession and tried to hide it.

— Melissa Marie Marker, 34, 146 E. Main, Hopedale, and Ronald Nathan Rupp, 33, of Tippecanoe, each were indicted separately on two counts of vandalism, two counts of breaking and entering, one count of theft and one count of theft of a motor vehicle, all felonies.

Marker and Rupp allegedly broke into Nemo’s in Mingo Junction Aug. 31 and removed a 2007 GMC Envoy that they’d had towed there, without paying the tow bill, as well as items from other vehicles on the lot.

— Dan Michael Thompson, 25, 168 Locust St., Steubenville, two felony counts of aggravated robbery. Thompson allegedly struck up a conversation with one of his victims and followed her inside her home where her roommate was counting their day’s earnings. Once inside, they told police he pulled out a gun and pointed it at them, demanding their money.

— Gary L. Roseberry Jr., 1212 ½ Lincoln Ave., Steubenville, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, having weapons under disability with additional findings and failure to comply with order or signal of a police officer, all felonies.

Roseberry, 37, allegedly led police on a chase through downtown Steubenville with a loaded Taurus in his car, accessible to him, Oct. 4 in Steubenville, despite previous convictions in Jefferson County for trafficking drugs in 2017, 2014, 2010, 2007, 2003 and 1993. The indictment alleges Roseberry ignored orders to exit the vehicle, causing “a substantial risk of serious physical harm to persons or property.”

— Curtis Duwane Shriver, 40, 424 N. Sixth St., Steubenville, theft and receiving stolen property, both felonies. Shriver allegedly stole tools, a paint sprayer and a brush hog valued at nearly $5,000 from the Jefferson Kiwanis Youth Soccer Club July 16.

— Sara L. Moore, 415 Linden Ave., Steubenville, felony possession of drugs. Moore, 26, allegedly had less than five grams of cocaine in her possession Sept. 28 in Steubenville.

— Patrick Thomas Ryan, 29, 417 Sixth St., Toronto, failure to comply, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest. Ryan allegedly tried to flee an officer Oct. 10 in Toronto.

— Arthur J. Goldberg, Hubbard, Ohio, misdemeanor theft. Goldberg, 32, allegedly stole calculators valued at $1,300 from Walmart on Aug. 28. He allegedly used the price tag for a much less expensive item at the self-checkout scanner, “with purpose to deprive Walmart, the owner, of (its) property,” authorities said.

— LaQuan Darnell Jones, 31, 1410 Euclid Ave., Steubenville, having weapons under disability, tampering with evidence, carrying a concealed weapon and drug possession, all felonies. The indictment alleges Jones, a fugitive from justice, had a loaded Bersa .380 in his possession, as well as four grams of cocaine, and that he tried to discard the evidence.

— Robert Preston Turner, 32, 208 Wilma Ave., Steubenville, having weapons under disability and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, both felonies. The indictment alleges Turner had a .45 Springfield Arms XD in his possession Dec. 1 while he was under indictment for or had been convicted of drug possession, and that the gun he had was accessible to him.

— Creshawn Chris Tyler, 27, 416 Adams St., Apt. 3, Steubenville, complicity to felonious assault with a firearm specification, possession of drugs and tampering with evidence, all felonies.

— Quintae Stubbs, 30, 707 Market St., Steubenville, reindicted on charges of possession of drugs and tampering with evidence, both felonies, and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, June 26 in Steubenville.

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