Grand jury to study assault case

The suspect will be on house arrest if he's released from jail.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BROOKFIELD -- A 53-year-old Hubbard man whom police say assaulted an employee at Valley View Antique Mall on Warren-Sharon Road is now bound over to a Trumbull County grand jury.
James Henry Coxson, of Price Shaffer Road, returned Thursday to Trumbull County Eastern District Court before Judge Ronald Rice. Coxson waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and the judge set bond at $250,000 cash or surety.
Should Coxson post bail, he will be placed on house arrest and monitored through the probation department. The judge also ordered that Coxson have no weapons in his possession and no contact with the victim.
According to police, Coxson hid in a stall in the restroom at the Valley View store Sunday waiting for store employee Robert Stafford to come in. When he did, police contend Coxson hit Stafford over the head with a pipe or some other type of metal object.
What happened next
Police said Coxson then ran from the store. Police reports say several witnesses were chasing Coxson when police caught up to him a short distance from the store.
Police said officers found a sawed-off shotgun, a ski mask and a duffel bag in the stall where Coxson had been waiting. Police reports said officers also found three knives, a 12-gauge shotgun, .357-caliber ammunition, and a bottle of gasoline in Coxson's possession at the time of his arrest.
Police Chief Daniel Faustino has said officers also found a .357-caliber handgun that had been tossed into a field near the grassy area behind the store where Coxson had parked his car.
Police said Coxson was a former employee at the store.
jgoodwin@vindy.com