TRUMBULL COUNTY Charges changed

The defendant is expected to be arraigned on the charges sometime next week.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 34-year-old Girard man accused of running over a woman in a field near a Liberty Township grocery store is no longer facing an attempted-murder charge.
A Trumbull County grand jury indicted Anthony V. Ciminero on other charges Wednesday.
Ciminero, who is free on a $200,000 bond, was originally charged with attempted murder and felonious assault. He has been indicted on two counts of felonious assault, aggravated vehicular assault while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, aggravated possession of drugs, possession of drugs, and possession of cocaine, benzodiazepines and opiates.
Ciminero is expected to be arraigned on the charges sometime next week, court officials said.
Atty. Ken Bailey, an assistant county prosecutor, declined to say why Ciminero is no longer facing the attempted-murder charge.
"The grand jury indicted Mr. Ciminero on the testimony and evidence we presented and that's all I can say," Bailey added.
What lawyer said
Atty. Maridee Costanzo, who along with Atty. Roger Bauer represents Ciminero, said she didn't believe her client should have faced the attempted-murder charge. She said that her client did not know the victim and had no intent to kill her.
"We are going to continue to work with the prosecutor's office and we hope we can reach some sort of agreement," Costanzo said. "Our client is currently concentrating on his rehabilitation."
Ciminero is attending a drug and alcohol treatment facility, Costanzo said.
Ciminero is accused of ramming his sport-utility vehicle into a parked car occupied by Robert and Nancy Norman of Liberty in the Giant Eagle parking lot on Belmont Avenue in July.
After the couple got out of the car, Ciminero ran over Mrs. Norman, 43, as she lay in a nearby field, Bailey said.
She spent two weeks in Cleveland MetroHealth Center with severe internal injuries. She is now in a local rehabilitation hospital, Bailey said.
sinkovich@vindy.com