Accused fracking protesters held on high bonds

YOUNGSTOWN — Seven people opposed to the underground fracking process, and who are accused of blocking trucks entering a disposal facility, now will need to come up with cash to get out of jail.

Anne Lukins, 21, of West Virginia; Lindsey Schwartz, 20, of Pennsylvania; Benjamin Sharpiro, 26, of Cleveland; Benjamin Marks, 19, of California; Jackson Kusiak, 19, of Massachusetts; Jeremy Bingham, 20, of Massachusetts; and Sean Otoole, 61, of Warren; were each taken into custody and issued a summons Wednesday for disorderly conduct outside a business in the 1000 block of Ohio Works Drive.

The seven individuals, accompanied by Atty. Sean Buchanan of Kent, appeared in Youngstown Municipal Court this morning asking Magistrate Anthony Sertick to allow each defendant to remain free on their own recognizance until a future trial date. Prosecutors for the city, however, asked the judge to hold the defendants on bonds as high as $10,000 each.

Prosecutors told the court that a bond is necessary on the out of town defendants to assure their appearance in what will likely be a series of court dates.

Buchanan said his clients are looking forward to appearing in court and being involved in the process. He said each of the defendants with out of town addresses are students at Oberlin College and believe they will show that they were exercising their rights when the case comes to trial.

“My clients plan to protest these charges. They believe they were peacefully exercising their rights... We plan to take this case to trial,” he said.

Magistrate Sertick set bond on each of the five defendants with out of town addresses at $7,500. He also ordered that none of the five have any contact with any business on Ohio Works Drive.

The magistrate set bond on the two Ohio residents at $2,500 and also ordered them not to have contact with any business on Ohio Works Drive.

For more on this story see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.