COLUMBIANA CO. Outside prosecutor to take case

The county will pay a Canton attorney $125 an hour plus expenses to try the case against a local defense attorney.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A Canton attorney will serve as special prosecutor in a Columbiana County Municipal Court case involving a local attorney accused of assaulting a state trooper.
Earlier this week, attorney William McGinnis was appointed by Judge David Tobin of county common pleas court. McGinnis will oversee prosecution of charges against attorney Carl Joseph King of East Liverpool.
Judge Tobin appointed a special prosecutor at the request of Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron.
Herron requested the appointment to avoid a conflict of interest because King serves as an attorney with the Columbiana County Criminal Defense Corp., a private, nonprofit agency that defends indigents charged with criminal offenses.
The county must pay the cost of McGinnis' services at the rate of $125 per hour. Additionally the county will pay for McGinnis' mileage, lodging and meals and for expert witness fees, Judge Tobin ordered.
King, 52, of East Sixth Street, is free on bond. He is charged with assault, a fourth-degree felony bearing a maximum penalty of 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine on conviction.
Authorities say King struck Trooper Jim Oakes on Nov. 1 at the Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Lisbon.
King was at the post because troopers had arrested the woman in whose car King was riding, charging her with driving under the influence of alcohol.
When Oakes tried to stop the woman from leaving the post, King tried to shove him, authorities say.
Oakes said King struck him as he attempted to handcuff him.
Other charges
Besides the assault offense, King also is charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, which stem from the confrontation with the trooper.
A hearing on the case is set for 10 a.m. Nov. 21 in county municipal court in Lisbon before visiting Judge Richard Powell.