Three arrested protestors identified; none from the Mahoning Valley

Three arrested protestors identified; none from the Mahoning Valley

GREEN TOWNSHIP

Goshen Township police have identified the three individuals arrested Sunday at an oil and lease gas signing.

All three are from outside the Mahoning Valley.

Anne Lukins, 21, of Bainbridge Island, Wash.; Jeremy T. Bingham, 20, of Arlington, Mass. and Jonathan Sidney, 22, of Cleveland were arrested in two separate incidents at Greenford Bobcats Space Center, 7600 W. South Range Road.

Lukis was one of 10 people who entered the building at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, where members of the Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley, a nonprofit landowner advocacy group, were signing leases with London-based BP.

BP hopes to extract natural resources from the Utica Shale using a process known as fracking, which uses a mix of water, chemicals and sand to unlock oil and gas reserves.

The 10 people were yelling and attempted to push past police officers and other event staff, according to police, and were “advised several times that they were not welcome inside the private building.”

Nine of the group members left the building; Lukis did not and was arrested on charges of criminal trespass and obstructing official business.

Two people, later identified as Bingham and Sidney, at approximately 5:40 p.m., set off fire alarms at the meeting.

Bingham and Sidney fled the scene and were apprehended five minutes later at 7856 W. South Range Road.

The two stated “we surrender, we are not resisting arrest” and were arrested on charges of inducing panic and criminal trespass.

All three are expected to appear in Mahoning County Court at 11 a.m. April 19.