Trial in assault case could begin Monday

Photo

Kenneth Rowles

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — A felonious assault charge filed against a 52-year-old Warren Township man is likely to go to trial Monday morning.

Kenneth Rowles was charged with firing a rifle at two Warren teens in October 2008, for vandalizing a campaign yard sign.

A final pretrial hearing was Tuesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court before Judge Andrew Logan. If convicted, Rowles could spend up to eight years in prison.

Rowles told police he fired three “warning shots” after the 16-year-old driver of an SUV kicked over a John McCain campaign sign in Rowles’ front yard while Rowles was sitting on his front porch.

The boys said Rowles fired a shot that hit a 17-year-old passenger in the arm.

One shot also passed through the vehicle and broke out the window on the passenger and driver’s sides.

The boys said they thought they were playing a prank, with one of the boys yelling, “This is for Obama” as he started knocking down the sign in Rowles’ Dover Street yard.

The incident occurred at 2 p.m. on a Saturday as the boys were returning from getting a haircut.