Man facing charges of taking dead dad’s truck
By MARK LAW, Staff writerSTEUBENVILLE - The Jefferson County grand jury returned indictments Wednesday against a Lisbon man for stealing his murdered father's truck and credit cards, and several convicted sex offenders who failed to report their addresses to the sheriff.
Travis N. Miller, 27, of Lisbon was indicted on single counts of theft of a motor vehicle and theft.
His father, Shelby F. Miller, 56, of 102 Boyce St., East Liverpool, was shot once in the back of the head on Sept. 21 at a fishing spot off state Route 213, Hammondsville. Travis Miller was arrested in Anderson County, Tenn., several days after the shooting. He was brought back to Jefferson County on a fugitive from justice warrant.
Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla has said the son is a suspect in the shooting death of his father.
Shelby Miller's truck was found in Morgan County, Tenn., behind the house of Travis Miller's mother.
The grand jury on Wednesday didn't return an indictment in connection with the shooting death of Shelby Miller.
The grand jury also returned indictments against the following convicted sex offenders who allegedly failed to report their address to the sheriff as required by law: James E. Brown, 46, of 509 Ross St.; Joseph D. Salazar, 29, of 424 N. Sixth St.; Tamara Shawna Jones, 31, of 115 Aetna St., Mingo Junction; Robert Brenneman, 42, of 732 Rosswell Ave.; John C. Walls, 54, of 438 S. Fourth St.; and David Pickford, 41, of 818 McLister Ave., Mingo Junction.
Federal, state and local law enforcement officials in September checked the addresses of convicted sex offenders in Jefferson County to determine if they were living at the addresses that they had reported to the county sheriff's department.
Steven J. Hendershot, 25, of 516 1/2 Pittsburgh St. was indicted by the grand jury on three counts of breaking and entering, two counts of burglary and a single count of vandalism.
City Police reported Hendershot was charged with break-ins of businesses on North and South Fourth streets and a house in the 500 block of Pittsburgh Street.
City Police went to a home on Bantam Ridge Road, Wintersville, and asked if Hendershot was in the home. Police searched the home and found Hendershot hiding in a garage area between a set of box springs and a mattress.
Joseph Drake, 28, of 422 Logan St. was indicted on single counts of breaking and entering and possession of criminal tools.
City Police arrested Drake inside Arnas Pharmacy at 425 Market St. on Oct. 2, the scene of numerous break-ins throughout the year.
Police had received a tip that the pharmacy was the target of a pending break-in. An officer was keeping an eye on the pharmacy and saw Drake inside the store hiding behind a counter.
Christopher S. Zrinyi, 37, of 307 Frostview Drive, Wintersville, was indicted on single counts of safecracking and theft in connection with a theft from the Spot Bar on South Fourth Street on Sept. 26.
Zrinyi was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening a common pleas judge who was presiding over Zrinyi's child custody case. Zrinyi also is facing a criminal case in Allegheny County, Pa., in which he was involved in a serious automobile accident that injured numerous people.
The grand jury also returned the following indictments:
Jason L. Watson, 34, of 732 Rosswell Ave., two counts of drug trafficking.
Eugene D. Hopkins, 19, of 723 Oxford Blvd., two counts of drug trafficking, each with a forfeiture specification.
Samuel B. Jones, 37, of 1201 Oak Grove Ave., one count drug trafficking.
Ryan J. Bruce, 26, of 3375 county Road 74, Mingo Junction, four counts of theft of firearms.
Lawrence Luke Jr., 18, of 1428 Ridge Ave., two misdemeanor counts of drug possession, one felony drug possession and one count tampering with evidence.
Jessel A. Graham, 56, 304 S. Fifth St., one count drug trafficking.
Michael E. Pittman, 32, of 49840 Annapolis Road, Bloomingdale, misdemeanor charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.
Secret indictment charging unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Jonathan Ellison, 23, of 3998 township Road 241, Toronto, three counts of receiving stolen property.
(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)



