WARREN Howland files charge in semen throwing case

The judge ordered the defendant not to return to Kmart until the case is resolved.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 38-year-old Brookfield man facing seven counts of criminal mischief in a Niles case in which semen was thrown at women has now pleaded innocent to one more charge, brought by Howland police.
Robert Leroy Gibson III, of South Albright McKay Road, entered the plea to a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief Monday in the municipal courtroom of Judge Terry Ivanchak.
Gibson is represented by Atty. Walter Dragelevich.
Howland police said Gibson threw semen on a woman Nov. 21 at the Kmart store on state Route 46 near the Eastwood Mall complex in Niles.
Judge Ivanchak released Gibson on $1,000 bond and set a preliminary hearing for 1:20 p.m. Jan. 22. The judge also ordered Gibson not to return to Kmart until the case is resolved.
Sgt. Frank Dillon said he is investigating three other cases where women say they believe semen was thrown on their coats.
Gibson, a husband and father, declined to comment.
He pleaded innocent last week in Niles Municipal Court to seven counts of criminal mischief and one count of aggravated trespassing, all misdemeanors. He is accused of throwing semen on at least four women who have been identified.
Police identified Gibson from store videos, which they say also captured him throwing a fluid from a container on more women, but police don't know their identities.
Blood tests: Niles Capt. Ken Criswell filed the misdemeanor charges in that city after blood tests revealed that Gibson doesn't have a communicable disease that would increase the charges to felonies. Gibson voluntarily submitted to the testing.
Police expect results in four to six weeks of DNA testing being conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification in Richfield to determine if the semen is from Gibson.
Gibson will return to Niles Municipal Court on Feb. 6. The encounters occurred between Aug. 4 and Nov. 21.
sinkovich@vindy.com