Cases continue for those involved in fight at church picnic

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

A Boardman woman accused in a church-festival fracas waived a preliminary hearing, and her case could be heard in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Michelle A. Murphy, 21, of Erie Street in Boardman, was in Mahoning County Area Court Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of inducing panic, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct (failed to desist) along with a felony charge of assault on a police officer. All the charges were bound over to a county grand jury.

Also charged in the incident at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Festival were George J. Huston, 18, of Schenley Avenue, inciting violence and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors; and Jonathon Daviduk, 18, of North Belle Vista Avenue, Youngstown, disorderly conduct.

Huston has a trial set for 10 a.m. Aug. 5 in Austintown court on the misdemeanor charges. He has a felony case on charges of receiving stolen property pending in common pleas court. Huston has a pretrial hearing in that case scheduled for Tuesday.

Daviduk had a pretrial hearing June 29 at which he was fined $170 plus court costs after pleading guilty.

Two juveniles also were charged in the fight – one with disorderly conduct and the other with felony assault of a police officer.

According to a police report, Austintown Detective Kathy Dina was working the Immaculate Heart of Mary Festival on June 6 when a large group of people gathered.

Dina grabbed the arm of a male who looked as if he were being congratulated on a fight to talk to him when Murphy grabbed her arm and would not let go.

A county deputy attempted to assist Dina by taking Murphy away from the festival, but Murphy began to fight that deputy, according to the police report.

The initial fight was believed to have started after a male used a racial slur against a juvenile male.