GRAND JURY North Side man faces charge in 2003 killing

A Trumbull County woman also was indicted for stealing some $100,000.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted a North Side man in a March 2003 homicide.
Steve A. Gardner, 20, of Ford Avenue, faces life in prison if he is convicted of murder, a charge handed down last week. The grand jury also indicted him on a firearm specification, which means that a gun was used to commit the crime. A conviction for the firearm specification would add three years to his potential sentence.
Accusation
Gardner is accused of killing 39-year-old Larry Robbins, who was found lying on the sidewalk in front of his Norwood Avenue house. According to police reports, he had been shot once in the back of his head.
Gardner remained at large for about a year before surrendering to police in March. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 25 in common pleas court, Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said.
Second indictment
Also indicted last week was Valentina Kolbrich-Godina of Stewart-Sharon Road, Brookfield, on a charge of aggravated grand theft.
Pochiro said the 44-year-old Trumbull County woman is accused of stealing more than $100,000 over an eight-year period from Ohio Truck & amp; Van Supply of Youngstown, where she worked as office manager. She is no longer employed by the company, Pochiro said.
The indictment says the alleged thefts took place from January 1996 through December 2003. Pochiro would not elaborate on how she took the money and said he was unsure what she did with it.
The money was discovered missing when the company's owners began looking into discrepancies involving a credit card.
If Kolbrich-Godina is convicted of the third-degree felony, she could be sentenced to one to five years in prison or could be placed on probation, Pochiro said. She also is scheduled for arraignment May 25.
bjackson@vindy.com