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Steubenville man found guilty

By LINDA HARRIS Staff writer 2 min read

STEUBENVILLE -- A Jefferson County Common Pleas jury found a 19-year-old Steubenville man guilty this week of four felony weapons violations.

Prosecuting Attorney Jane Hanlin said Quentin Hill, 19, is facing up to nine years in prison after being found guilty of two counts of having weapons under disability and two counts of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle in January 2022. He's facing up to nine years in prison for the four convictions, she said.

Hill was acquitted on one count of receiving stolen property -- an AK-47 -- and pleaded guilty to a separate charge of resisting arrest when a Steubenville police officer subsequently spotted him walking into Maryland Market on Jan. 20, 2022, and tried to take him into custody.

Authorities had said they found a Glock 22 and the stolen AK-47 in the back seat of a vehicle during a January 2022 traffic stop, but Hill managed to slip away while police were occupied with two men in the front seat.

Hanlin said she's pleased with his convictions.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Hill has been a problem for the citizens of Steubenville since the time he was a young teenager," she said.

"I think the jury was able to view the body camera footage from the officers, the video footage from inside the police cruisers and a very incriminating telephone call made from the Jefferson County jail," she added. "This allowed the jurors to see Mr. Hill in the same way that the police officers saw him, which was much different than his demeanor during the trial."

Hill also has been ordered to stand trial in a separate case involving a December 2021 shootout in the LaBelle section on Dec. 6. Authorities allege Hill and a companion, juveniles at the time, fired at a car and the occupants returned fire. Hill, who had a prior juvenile conviction for robbery, was prohibited from having or possessing guns and he was bound over to adult court. At the time, authorities claimed Hill tried to get rid of evidence and had a firearm "ready at hand."

That trial is slated for May.

"I think the jury got it right," Assistant Prosecutor Bernie Battistel said. "I think they believed our witnesses and that those jail calls helped prove our case, too."

Judge Michelle Miller presided at the trial.

Starting at /week.