STEUBENVILLE — Thirteen people were ordered to stand trial Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury, including three who allegedly faked a drowning in August.

Also among those indicted were a Wintersville nursing home supervisor who allegedly had improper sexual contact with a female patient who lacked the capacity to make decisions for herself, a Steubenville man who allegedly downloaded dozens of pornographic images of children — some of them very young — and an alleged serial shoplifter.

Richard Lee Newlen, 40, of 317 Hutchinson Rd., New Matamoras, will be tried on felony charges of tampering with evidence, inducing panic and making false alarms.

A female companion, Breanna Lea Watkins, 28, also of 317 Hutchinson Rd., New Matamoras, and Matthew Michael Hunt, 43, 833 Jeanette Ave, Apt. B, Steubenville, also face trial on felony charges of inducing panic, making false alarms and obstructing justice, along with a misdemeanor count of falsification

The three were indicted separately on charges stemming from Newlen’s alleged suicide Aug. 25 in the Friendship Park lake.

Authorities allege Hunt and Watkins called in the fabricated report of seeing a man jump into the lake, triggering a massive and expensive search-and-recovery operation in what they now describe as “a ridiculous waste of time and resources.”

Newlen, a convicted sex offender, left a suicide note with the pair for them to give police.

Newlen had pleaded guilty in Washington County in 2013 to gross sexual imposition and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. He originally was charged with rape but agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charges, so the then- 12-year-old victim would not have to testify.

Classified as a Tier II sex offender, Newlen was required by law to report his location every six months for 25 years. Authorities allege a missed reporting deadline led the trio to try and fake his death.

Newlen was apprehended several days later in East Liverpool with another female.

Grand jurors also returned a true bill charging Daniel Keven Cawthorn, 68, 6 Morningside Dr., Apt. 1, Wintersville, with sexual battery, a felony.

Authorities say an employee allegedly walked into a room and discovered a patient performing oral sex on Cawthorn, a supervisor. The woman is a patient at the home “because she cannot make her own decisions,” they said.

Leroy Daniel Bee, 42, 229 Ravine St., Apt. 3, Steubenville, was named in a two-count felony indictment alleging he pandered obscenity involving a minor or impaired person, March 18 and again May 3.

Bee allegedly downloaded 40-50 pornographic videos of children, some of them under the age of 3.

Authorities say the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force identified the illegal download and allegedly traced it back to Bee.

Also indicted:

• Timothy Allen Lawrence, 42, 636 Oakmont Ave., Steubenville, tampering with evidence, a felony.

Lawrence allegedly tried to flush cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, down a toilet July 3 as officers from the Jefferson County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at his home.

• Tyler Lee Saxton, 33, 154 Walter St., Yorkville, trespassing in a habitation when a person is present or likely to be present, a felony, plus misdemeanor charges of possessing drugs and possessing drug abuse instruments.

Authorities reported Saxton was under the influence Aug. 31 when he allegedly tried to enter a residence, frightening the homeowner. According to the indictment, Saxton had more than 57 Xanax bars in his possession along with a hypodermic or syringe.

• Tyler Charles Christian, 24, Reading, Pa., grand theft of a motor vehicle, a felony.

Christian allegedly stole a 2021 Nissan Altima from a dealership Sept. 9 after taking it and another vehicle for a test drive. He didn’t purchase either car but authorities allege he pocketed the Altima’s key’s after the test drive, then returned to the dealership that night and stole it.

Authorities said that after discovering the vehicle missing, a review of the paperwork on file from the test drives led them to Christian’s home, where they recovered the Altima.

• Jermaine Roosevelt Crawford Jr., 26, 2637 Chestnut st., Steubenville, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer, a felony.

Crawford, indicted in 2024 for a brutal barstool assault at Club 106, was allegedly spotted going 41 mph in a 25 mph zone Sept. 24 and when police tried to pull him, over fled the scene.

Authorities claim Crawford jumped out of the car, leaving it in drive, and made his getaway on foot, but left his wallet, ID and cell phone behind in the car. The car smashed into a garage, they said.

Dispatchers were able to pull camera footage showing the vehicle pulling away from Crawford’s house with him at the wheel, they said.

• Jeremy Lee Brown, 42, 301 McLister Ave., Mingo Junction, domestic violence, felony, Aug. 31.

According to the indictment, Brown allegedly assaulted a member of his household on Aug. 31. He has a previous conviction, this one in August 2024, for assaulting a female he knew to be pregnant.

• Kori Darnell Smith, 39, 726 Kendall Ave, Steubenville, having a weapon under disability, a felony, with a specification for forfeiture of a weapon.

Authorities executing a warrant at Smith’s home Aug. 12 allegedly found a gun that he claimed ownership of. He is prohibited from owning or possessing guns because of a July 2018 conviction in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court for trafficking drugs.

Prosecutors also want Smith to forfeit the gun, a Canik TP9.

• Latasha Janeen Birden, 35, 1655 Oregon Ave., Steubenville, felony theft, plus a second indictment alleging and criminal trespass plus four counts of misdemeanor theft.

The felony indictment alleges Birden allegedly stole merchandise valued at $2,177 from Walmart between June 11 and June 22.

The misdemeanor indictment alleges Birden perpetrated a series of smaller thefts — $300 in food and merchandise from Kroger March 17; another $500 from Walmart on March 22, $79 from Walmart July 3 and $340 from Walmart Aug. 8 — and was spotted in the store Aug. 18, despite having previously been banned for life from all Walmart properties.

Birden allegedly enters the stores “with a list and steals things on it, then sells them at half-price” to another establishment.

• Xavior J. Lynch, 18, 730 N. 7 th St., Apt. C14, Steubenville, carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, Sept. 6.