Six indicted in drug case

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A Mahoning County grand jury Thursday issued superseding indictments to six people for charges ranging from trafficking in heroin to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. It also indicted a man who was once the suspect in an elderly woman’s death.

The grand jury said the six formed a criminal enterprise that existed to sell heroin between December 2011 and November 2012.

Martin Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor, said the six are accused of distributing heroin on the West Side. He said prosecutors waited to indict their case so they could make sure they had enough evidence.

The six charged are Bruce A. Dawson, 25, of Roy Street; Shauna Lee Barber, 25, of Connecticut Avenue; John Skarada, 37, of Connecticut Avenue; Robert A. Basic, 36, of Oak Trace; Christopher Johnson, 22, of Rush Boulevard; and Dennis J. Sklenchar Jr., 19, of Staatz Drive.

They face charges of trafficking in heroin, possession of heroin, trafficking in a counterfeit controlled substance, permitting drug abuse and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Skarada faces an additional charge of illegal possession of weapons for having a gun despite a prior drug offense in Tennessee in 1995 and a robbery conviction in 1999, according to the indictment.

Also indicted was Jamar Houser, 22, of Graham Street in Columbus, for a charge of retaliation. The indictment alleges that Houser threatened a person who was to be a witness in a criminal case.

Houser was a suspect in the Jan. 23, 2010, murder of Angeline Fimognari, 80, of Sheridan Road, in the parking lot of St. Dominic Church on the South Side. Fimognari was shot in the head. Her purse was missing, leading police to believe she was a victim of robbery turned deadly.

Houser was arrested a few days after the crime and charged with her death. He remained in the county jail awaiting trial until May 2012, when prosecutors said they had evidence that pointed to someone else killing Fimognari ,and he was released from jail and the charges dropped.

Police found a palm print on her car that did not match Houser’s, and two people told prosecutors that another man who was later murdered confessed to Fimognari’s death. The palm print did not match that man.

Houser’s father also served a year in jail for threatening a witness.

Others indicted Thursday are:

Jonathan E. Peek, 35, East Fifth Street, Struthers, burglary, theft, vandalism.

Earl D. Boggs, 42, Heacock Road, Sebring, corrupting another with drugs.

David Gonce, 20, Pointview Avenue, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Roosevelt Harris, 46, West LaClede Avenue, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Melvin Land, 18, East Dewey Avenue, possession of heroin.

Angela Cascarelli, 45, Bedford Road, Lowellville, possession of heroin.

Shawn A. Merkich, 30, Idlewood Avenue, Austintown, two counts breaking and entering and receiving stolen property.

Robert Willison, 32, South Turner Road, Canfield, three counts of possession of drugs.

Phylicia M. Chalker, 22, Roberts Street, Vienna, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.

Joshua A. Curry, 20, Briggs Road, Leavittsburg, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.

Anthony J. Smith, 25, Gillmer Road, Leavittsburg, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.

Donny J. Thompson, 22, Kincaid East Road, Warren, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs.

Marc A. Chicase, 36, Forest Park Drive, Boardman, public indecency and felonious assault.

Joseph Monastra, 25, Malvern, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of cocaine with forfeiture specifications.

Linda Bankston, 43, West Ravenwood Avenue, possession of cocaine.

Louis Burley, 25, Hunter Avenue, aggravated possession of drugs with a forfeiture specification.

Jason Ostavitz, 20, Trumbull Court, Campbell, carrying concealed weapons and receiving stolen property.

Khiry Pierce, 18, Mathews Road, Boardman, possession of cocaine and possession of heroin with a forfeiture specification.

Stanley Wallace Jr., 30, Poplar Avenue, Hubbard, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Fawn M. Cox, 34, Sankey Street, New Castle, Pa., improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle.

James Tinsley, 32, Main Street, Campbell, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and illegal possession of weapons.

Kimberly A. Gilmore, 42, Willard Avenue SE, Warren, theft and 16 counts of forgery.