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Staff photo / Raymond L. Smith
Former Liberty firefighter Joshua Cleland, left, with his attorney Christopher Maruca on Tuesday during Clelandâs arraignment in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on drug-related charges. He pleaded not guilty.
WARREN A former Liberty firefighter who resigned amid a drug investigation at the department pleaded not guilty to charges he faces in connection to that inquiry Tuesday.
Joshua Cleland made his first appearance in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court after a grand jury indictment last week charging the 42-year-old with aggravated possession of drugs and tampering with evidence, both felonies.
The former lieutenant also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of drugs.
May 11, 2021
WARREN – Former Liberty Township Firefighter Joshua Cleland pleaded not guilty to felony charges of aggravated possession of drugs and tampering with evidence, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of drugs during an arraignment hearing before Judge Andrew D. Logan this morning.
Cleland was assigned a $1,500 bond.
He agreed to a 120-day waiver of his speedy trial time, delaying his trial date until Aug. 22.
If convicted on all charges, Cleland could face a potential maximum of 6 1/2 years in prison.
Cleland and two other ranking firefighters, Lt. Justin Graham and Capt. Chris Olson, were forced out of the department last spring following an investigation that arose after the April 12, 2020, death of Liberty firefighter / paramedic John Beard. Beard died from an accidental drug overdose.
WARREN Former Liberty Township firefighter Joshua Cleland, 42, was indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury Wednesday on charges connected to a yearlong drug investigation linked to the fire department.
Cleland, of Warner Road, Vienna, is charged with two felonies aggravated possession of drugs with specification for forfeiture, and tampering with evidence.
A former lieutenant in the Liberty Fire Department, Cleland also is charged with a first-degree misdemeanor drug possession.
If found guilty of all charges, he would face a potential maximum of six-and-a-half-years in prison.
Cleland’s significant other, Hayleh A. Omar, 43, of the same Warner Road address, was indicted on a misdemeanor obstructing official business charge that will be handled in Girard Municipal Court.
gvogrin@tribtoday.com
WARREN Former Liberty Township firefighter Joshua Cleland, 42, was indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury Wednesday on charges connected to a yearlong drug investigation linked to the fire department.
Cleland, of Warner Road, Vienna, is charged with two felonies aggravated possession of drugs with specification for forfeiture, and tampering with evidence.
A former lieutenant in the Liberty Fire Department, Cleland also is charged with a first-degree misdemeanor drug possession.
If found guilty of all charges, he would face a potential maximum of six-and-a-half-years in prison.
Cleland’s significant other, Hayleh A. Omar, 43, of the same Warner Road address, was indicted on a misdemeanor obstructing official business charge that will be handled in Girard Municipal Court.