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STEUBENVILLE -- An Amsterdam resident has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly murdering a Jefferson County jail inmate nearly three months ago.
Ronald Dexter Smith, 185 Cricket St., was one of seven people indicted Wednesday by the Jefferson County grand jury.
Smith, 42, is charged with "purposely" causing the Oct. 18 death of 65-year-old Daniel T. Drake.
Drake, a Steubenville resident, had been jailed three days earlier on charges he failed to appear for a court hearing, escape and obstruction. At the time city police reported he walked away from Trinity Medical Center West while under a hold.
Drake was found dead in his jail cell, authorities said. An autopsy subsequently concluded he'd been strangled and Smith, who had been booked into jail Sept. 29 for allegedly violating a protection order, was the only other occupant of the cell.
Also indicted:
• Brandon C. Calfee, 19, 176 Nessley St., Empire, rape, a felony. The assault allegedly took place on or about Aug. 1 and involved a child under the age of 13.
• Dallas Jquan Fleshman, 24, 730 Rosswell Ave., two counts of felonious assault. The indictment alleges Fleshman "did knowingly cause serious physical harm" to a female and that he used an automobile to run her down. Authorities allege Fleshman "hit the woman with his car" after an argument between the victim and her sister outside of the Steubenville Kroger.
• Terry Lee Herring, 381 county Road 20, Dillonvale, domestic violence and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, both felonies. The two-count indictment alleges Herring, 44, "did knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm" to a member of his household on Dec. 21 and then a week later led officers attempting to take him into custody on a high-speed chase.
At the time, deputies said they'd terminated pursuit when Herring's vehicle was clocked in excess of 100 miles per hour and circled back to a residence he'd been known to frequent, locating his car there minus its license plate. They'd said they found Herring hiding in a closet under a pile of clothes.
According to his indictment, Herring has been previously convicted or pleaded guilty to domestic violence in West Virginia in Ohio County magistrate court in 2010, Ohio County Circuit Court in 2011 and Monongalia County Circuit Court in 2021.
• Michael Wade Decker, 51, 546 Arden Ave., Steubenville, weapons under disability, a felony. The indictment alleges Decker, also known as Michael Wade Brost, had a gun in his possession Dec. 5 in Steubenville, despite a prior felony drug conviction that prohibits him from using or possessing guns. Court records indicate Decker had been convicted of possessing cocaine in Summit County in 1997.
• Dean Michael Reed, 48, 401 Labelle St., Lot 41, Brilliant, domestic violence, a felony. The indictment indicates Reed had previously been convicted of domestic violence in Dillonvale county court in 2016.
• A superseding indictment was returned in the case of Myron Devon Harton, 34, 411 Lincoln Ave., Mingo Junction. Harton had originally been indicted in November on charges of possessing cocaine, receiving stolen property and having weapons under disability, all felonies, with added specifications for major drug offender status and seeking forfeiture of an auto and cash in his possession. A firearms specification was added in December.
Authorities said the new indictment corrects a typo in the original document.