Divisions

CRIMINAL DIVISION

The Criminal Division represents the citizens of the State of Ohio and Portage County in prosecuting criminal cases in our County's three Municipal Courts, two Common Pleas Courts and the Juvenile Court. The Portage County Prosecutor is responsible for over 30,000 criminal and traffic cases filed each year in these Courts. This Division also offers legal advice and assistance to our County's sixteen different Police Departments. This Division is staffed by eleven attorneys, five investigators and two administrative staff members.

Prosecutors are responsible for overseeing investigations, vetting criminal complaints, presenting cases to the Grand Jury, preparing felony cases for trial, interviewing witnesses, continuing ongoing investigation, and prosecuting and litigating felony cases in Portage County's two Common Pleas courts.

Common Pleas Court Prosecutors
Chief Prosecutor: Kevin Mayer
Deputy Chief Prosecutor: Dan Sallerson
Chief of Grand Jury & SVU: Eric Finnegan
Grand Jury: Vince Vigluicci
Stephen Michniak, Major Crimes
Sean Scahill, Senior
Raymond Srp
Mitchell Rozaieski
Madison Sivy
Lindsey Leonard

Common Pleas Court Investigators
Jim Acklin- Judge Doherty’s Court
Brett Mitzel- Judge Doherty’s Court
Martin Gilliland- Judge Pittman’s Court
Joe Beckwith- Judge Pittman’s Court

Special Projects Investigators
Gregory Johnson
Gordon Fischer

Special Victims Unit Prosecutors
Chief Eric Finnegan, Madison Sivy, Mitchell Rozaieski & Lindsey Leonard.

This Unit is responsible for ongoing investigations and prosecution of all sexually based offenses, human trafficking, crimes perpetrated against children, crimes perpetrated against the developmentally disabled, and crimes targeting the elderly. The Special Victims Unit also assists the Portage County Sheriff's Office in the tracking and prosecution of registered sex offenders. Cases are heard in Common Pleas, Municipal, and Juvenile Courts.

SVU Investigator
Teena McKamey

Municipal Courts

Assistant Prosecutors
Paul Hanus
Zachary Skidmore
Clayton Ansel

Responsible for preparing and litigating misdemeanor and traffic cases in our county's three municipal courts and advising police officers in ongoing investigations.

Investigator
Michael Wisniewski

Juvenile Court Prosecutor
Alexis Newpher

This Department represents the County in all Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Traffic complaints. The Prosecutor appears before one Judge and multiple Magistrates in the county's juvenile court. Police Departments rely heavily on the Prosecutor for advice on sensitive issues that are not present in adult cases.

Felony Non-Support of Children

This Department assists the county's Child Support Enforcement Agency in locating and preparing cases for prosecution of "deadbeat" parents who have large child support delinquencies which fit the criteria of the Ohio Revised Code for felony prosecution.

Investigators
Timothy Moon
Matthew Skilton

Chief Administrator

Lori Heiney

Administrative Assistant to the Prosecutor; TAC Officer for L.E.A.D.S.; Recording Secretary for Budget Commission; Grants Administrator for VAWA, VOCA, SVAA, VOCA Expansion, Portage/Trumbull Drug Grant; Payroll, Bills, Requisitions, Statutory Reporting Requirements, Inventory, Personnel, Checking Accounts, Budgetary Matters, Coordinate CLE Compliance.

Administrative Support Staff

Krista Keller Groves - Grand Jury Coordinator, TAC Officer

Jill Abbuhl - Administrative Assistant

Susan Roosa - Receptionist

Kimberly Boswell - Administrative Service Coordinator

Celeste Trammel - Administrative Assistant

Brianna Minard - Administrative Assistant

CIVIL DIVISION

The Civil Division provides legal representation to all County elected officials and their respective offices. They also provide legal representation to all County Boards and Commissions, the County's eighteen Townships, their Trustees, Clerks, and Zoning Boards. This Division represents all of these entities in matters of litigation in State and Federal Courts, contracts, personnel matters, collection of real estate and personal property taxes owed to the County, and rendering general legal advice to all of the County and Township officials. This Division is staffed by seven attorneys and their support staff.

Attorneys

Chief Prosecutor Civil Division Chris Meduri: Oversees Civil staff, Board of Commissioners (Building Department, EMA, HR, Budget Finance, Internal Services & JFS), Board of Elections, Probation, Sheriff, Port Authority & Park District & Regional Airport Authority.

Assistant Prosecutor Civil Division Allison Manayan: Represents Auditor, Treasurer, Recorder, All land bank and other foreclosures, Tax Appeals, Board of Revisions, Data Processing Board, Clerk of Courts, Information Technology & Records Commission.

Assistant Prosecutor Civil Division Brett Bencze: Represents Library/School District, Fire District, All levy issues, Health District, Water Resources, Engineer's Office, Regional Planning, Soil & Water Conservation District, Water Resources Department, Represents Workers Compensation for the County, Dog Warden, Veteran's Services, Health District, Civil Commitment Hearings, Coroner, HR Support, Public Records Support, Judges, Budget Commission, DD Board, Mental Health Recovery Board, Townships Ravenna, Nelson & Palmyra & Tax Maps.

Assistant Prosecutors Civil Division Julia Adkins and Holly Spohn: Represent the Department of Job and Family Services in all child abuse, neglect, and dependency cases.

Assistant Prosecutor Civil Division Brandon Wheeler: Represents the Department of Job and Family Services as general counsel, and in child emergency care, and adult protective services.

Chief Prosecutor of Special Projects Heaven R. DiMartino: Represents Townships Atwater, Brimfield, Charlestown, Freedom, Franklin, Deerfield, Edinburg, Hiram, Mantua, Paris, Randolph, Rootstown, Shalersville, Suffield and Windham, Overseeing Appeals Division, Appeal Support, Police & Prosecutor Training, PR Support, Grant Writing, Supervise Internship Program & Community Outreach.

APPELLATE DIVISION

The Appellate Division provides legal representation in all legal matters of the Criminal and Civil Divisions involving appeals from local Court decisions to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals, Ohio Supreme Court, and Federal Courts of Appeal.

Attorneys

Theresa Scahill
Heaven R. DiMartino

VICTIMS ASSISTANCE

The Victim/Witness Assistance Division provides assistance, information, and emotional support to victims of crime and referrals to other quality support services offered in Portage County. Advocates are available twenty-four hours a day to assist victims of crimes in areas of sex abuse crimes, child abuse, domestic violence, stalking, assault, drunk driving, theft-related crimes, and to assist the families of homicide victims. These services are available to all residents of Portage County, or anyone who becomes the victim of a violent crime in Portage County.

This Division's trained advocates are available to lend immediate support to victims of violent crime, to accompany them to court appearances, provide information and guidance concerning the criminal justice system, make referral to appropriate social service agencies and counselors, provide information concerning payment of medical bills from State funds, and to notify victims and witnesses concerning important hearing dates and the status or outcome of criminal cases in which they are involved.

Services

Personal Advocacy - Available to meet crime victims at crime scenes, hospitals, and police stations 24 hours a day. Familiarize victims and witnesses with the criminal justice system and explain the adjudication process. In addition advocates accompany victims to court hearings, provide reassurance to those experiencing fear of retaliation, assure separation from the defendant or defendant's family at the courthouse, and transport victims and witnesses to and from court if necessary.

Notification - Inform the victims and witnesses of the present status and/or disposition of their case.

Referrals - Refer crime victims to counselors and appropriate social service agencies that include Townhall II and Safer Futures.

Victim Compensation - Eligible crime victims in the State of Ohio may collect from the Victim Compensation Fund. Advocates supply reparations applications and referrals to attorneys who assist the victim in the filing of a claim free of charge. Our office has helped victims recoup over $296,000.00 in compensation.

Victim Impact Statement - A statement written by the victim of a crime expressing his or her feelings regarding how the victimization has affected his or her life. It is submitted to the Adult Probation Department for a pre-sentence investigation and to the presiding judge to read prior to sentencing.

Victims' Rights - Upon request, advocates provide information to victims regarding the Ohio Parole Board and parole or release hearings.

Public Education - Inform the public of programs and services through training, brochures and education.

Staff

This Division is staffed by multiple full-time Advocates and is funded almost entirely by state and federal grants.

Director
Cassie Finnegan

Advocates
Chelsea Berish

Jackie McCauley

Christina Wood

Jennifer Stasko

Larry Richard

Olivia Bartlett

Jacob Tannert, Administrative Assistant

INTERNSHIPS

Internships are available to university students for course credit in all divisions of the Prosecutor’s office.

STATISTICS OF INTEREST

YEAR 2024 STATISTICS OF INTEREST

The Criminal Division was responsible for over 19,144 misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases, including 837 impaired driving cases (OVI) and 270 misdemeanor domestic violence cases. Total cases disposed of 27,135.
The Criminal Division received 1,563 felony reports from the sixteen police agencies serving Portage County, including 9 homicide or attempted homicide cases, 73 felonious assault cases, 78 felony domestic violence cases, 98 Rape/Sex Crime (SVU) cases, 66 felony burglary cases, 136 felony theft cases, 10 robbery cases, 21 receiving stolen property cases, 79 Strangulation cases and 624 felony drug related cases.
A sum of 1,092 new felony indictments were filed in the Portage County Common Pleas Court in 2024, each representing one individual who was charged with one or more felony level crimes. Total Criminal Felony Cases 2,008.
The Civil Division opened 188 new case files and 61 administrative files in 2024. 247 county contracts were prepared and/or reviewed by this Division. In its representation of the County's Department of Job and Family Services in matters of child abuse, dependency and neglect, the Civil Division opened 129 new files in 2024.
In 2024 the Appellate Division handled 62 new cases in the 11th District Court of Appeals, 17 cases in the Supreme Court of Ohio. 75 percent of the Appellate cases arose from criminal matters.
The Victim/Witness Assistance Division rendered assistance to a total of 2,076 victims of crime in 2024: 1,873 in the Municipal and Common Pleas Courts, and 203 in the juvenile court.
The Juvenile Division handled 347 JCA Delinquency cases, 569 JTB Traffic offense cases, 53 JCD Unruly cases and 42 JCE Adult contributing cases in the Juvenile court.

For more information about employment opportunities at the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office please see the Portage County website: www.portagecounty-oh.gov and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association: www.ohiopa.org . Please visit our website at: www.portageprosecutor.com for more information about our office and other useful links.

RESOURCES

Victim's Rights Request Form

Ohio Victims of Crime Compensation Program
phone: 1-877-584-2846
Click here for website

Townhall II
155 North Water St.
Kent, OH 44240
330-678-4357 (HELP) 24/7 helpline
866-449-8518 toll free
website: http://www.townhall2.com
email: info@townhall2.com

Townhall II Medical Clinic

Safer Futures
Your Link To Shelter, Support, Legal Advocacy and Referrals...
Call us anytime our Support line numbers are:
330-673-2500 / 330-296-2100

Madd- Portager County Chapter
email: portage.oh@madd.org
phone: 1-800-691-6233

United Way, Portage County Chapter

Ohio Attorney General Directory of Victim Services

Office for Victims of Crime (U.S. Department of Justice)

National Organization for Victim Assistance

Akron Victim Assistance Program

Ohio Domestic Violence Network