Local

Warren man pleads not guilty to murder, weapons charges

By Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

The following cases were handled Thursday before Judge Ronald J. Rice of the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court:

  • Rashawn Jordan, 36, of Belmont Street, Warren, pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder and two counts having weapons while under disability during arraignment after Jordan was picked up on a secret indictment Wednesday afternoon. The judge found that because of his violent criminal record and because he would present a considerable risk to public safety, Jordan was to be held in the county jail without bond. Another pre-trial is set for 1:30 p.m. March 19. Jordan was connected to the Sept. 24, 2023, shooting death of Eric Shannon, 36, who was killed on the front porch of his McMyler Avenue NW apartment.
  • Hunter Hauck, 20, of Windham, was sentenced to an indefinite prison term of eight to 12 years. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, 2024 to first-degree kidnapping and rape offenses connected to a July 16, 2022, sexual attack of a 51-year-old female social worker at the Warren Township group home Hauck was staying at. Hauck who suffers from mental illness, was labeled a Tier 3 sexual offender and must also register as a violent offender. The judge he was sympathetic to the defendant’s mental state, but added: “What you did is disturbing and is every social worker’s worst nightmare.”

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The following case was handled Wednesday afternoon, March 6, 2024, before Judge Cynthia Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas court:

  • William Spithaler, 57, of Davis Peck Road, Gustavus, was given five years’ probation, beginning with a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty in January to charges of grand theft, breaking and entering and vandalism. Spithaler, who operated a logging company in Gustavus, had been accused of cutting down trees in a property that was not his own. The amount of lumber involved was valued at $35,214, which was the amount of restitution he was ordered by the judge to pay the victims. Spithaler had $5,000 to pay at the time of sentencing, his lawyer said. The amount of property damage was valued at $1,000. Spithaler also faces civil action over the incident, court records show.

Any questions, please call or text me at 330-501-9377. Thanks Guy V.