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STEUBENVILLE -- A Jefferson County grand jury indicted 13 people Wednesday, including a Mingo Junction man who allegedly sent at least 6,000 emails to the staff at the Board of Developmental Disabilities threatening their lives and the lives of their family members.
Grand jurors also indicted two other individuals who allegedly preyed on individuals in a "protected class," as well as two men who allegedly followed a man headed to an ATM downtown and tried to steal his PIN number and the cash he withdrew. A Steubenville resident also was indicted for allegedly trying to drive his vehicle off a tow truck while it was being repossessed.
Ordered to stand trial on two felony counts of telecommunications harassment plus two misdemeanor counts of violating a protection order was Allen Michael Brodess, 1870 State Route 151, Mingo Junction.
Authorities suggest Brodess, 38, lobbied the BDD for services, then once he was on their rolls began bombarding staff with demands for a number of services for which he didn't qualify. When told they couldn't do what he wanted, Brodess allegedly sent staff explicit threats of harm to them and their family members.
Brodess had been convicted of a separate telecommunications harassment violation last year in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court.
Also facing trial are:
-- Andrew Eugene Kinkade, 44, Colerain, and Nicholas Tyler Woodland, 36, 416 Madison Ave., Steubenville, each indicted on a felony robbery charge.
Authorities allege Kinkade and Woodland assaulted a man using an ATM downtown and stole $180 in cash he'd just withdrawn. They also suggest one of the alleged assailants was watching as the victim entered his PIN number and, during the scuffle, ran up to the terminal and attempted to withdraw more money from the man's account.
A third defendant, 40-year-old Brian Digman, 423 N. Seventh St., pleaded guilty in August to a bill of information and was sentenced to a minimum of two years and a maximum of three years behind bars for his role in the robbery.
-- Dunyasha Mon Yetts, 54, 4533 Saint Andrew Drive, Steubenville, a felony charge of vandalism along with misdemeanor criminal damaging or endangering.
Authorities allege Yetts realized his vehicle was being repossessed and tried to drive it off the tow truck, causing "disabling damage" to the tow truck as well as another vehicle parked next to it.
-- Emmet C. Blanchard Jr., 43, 723 Market St., Apt. B, Steubenville, possession of cocaine and possession of a fentanyl compound, both felonies, on July 22.
Blanchard was allegedly dealing drugs from the apartment, which he shared with his daughter and young grandchild.
Authorities say other residents had reported an inordinate amount of traffic to and from the apartment and when management investigated, they found a "thumbprint scanner lock" on his bedroom door. By the time they returned to the apartment with police, authorities said the outside door lock had already been changed, but they were able to make entry. Once inside, Blanchard's daughter allowed them to search the property. Police allegedly found 95 grams of cocaine in his bedroom.
-- Nicholas Scott Smith, 33, New Philadelphia, two counts of theft, a felony, between May 5 and July 6.
Authorities allege Smith, an inmate at East Ohio Correctional Center, left for a weekend furlough but failed to return. While he was on the loose, another inmate discovered his debit card missing and charges being made on it.
Just over $1,280 in fraudulent charges were made on the account, they said.
-- Courtney Jo Jacobs, 37, 17368 State Route 152, Toronto, theft from a person in a protected class and misuse of credit cards, both felonies.
Jacobs was the caretaker for a wheelchair-bound individual with extremely limited mobility. Authorities say her employer routinely gave Jacobs her credit card so she could go to stores and purchase any items she needed, unaware that Jacobs was allegedly using her boss's card to pay for items she'd purchased for herself and to get cash back.
-- Melissa Marie Marker, 39, 1402 Ridge Ave., Steubenville, escape.
Authorities allege Marker was detained after giving police a fictitious name during a traffic stop, unknowingly giving them the name of a woman who had an outstanding warrant. When she confessed her real identity, police said they discovered she, too, had a warrant and took her to the jail.
During the booking process, they suggest Marker told jail staff she had drugs concealed in her body, so she was taken to the hospital for testing but fled despite having been warned she'd be charged with felony escape if she left the building.
-- Autumn Storm Ayers, 36, 136 Logan Court, New Cumberland, assault and vandalism, both felonies.
Police reported Ayers scratched an officer who took her into custody after allegedly witnessing her trying to enter the JFK apartment building on Aug. 6 despite being banned from the property.
She also allegedly used her handcuffs to scratch the woodwork as she was being led out of Steubenville Municipal Court following her Aug. 14 hearing.
-- Dawn Michelle Miracle, 51, 72094 Colerain Mount Pleasant, Dillonvale, aggravated possession of drugs, a felony.
Miracle allegedly had methamphetamine in her possession July 14.
-- Elijah J. Foust, 39, 236 Rex Ave., Steubenville, possession of cocaine.
Foust allegedly had about 13 grams of cocaine in his possession when he was pulled over in Wintersville June 8.
-- Ryan Charles Fiala, 36, 31 Spring St., Toronto, theft from a person in a protected class, a felony.
Fiala allegedly used a debit card belonging to an individual he'd befriended at an area nursing home without her permission, withdrawing around $1,200 from her account.
Grand jurors also amended an indictment originally returned in June against Ricky James Sheets, 27, 12026 State Route 213, Toronto, downgrading the domestic violence charge against him from a felony to a misdemeanor.