ST. CLAIRSVILLE — An Oklahoma man convicted of obstruction of justice will spend 30 months behind bars for lying to law enforcement officers who were investigating the September 2021 murders of Thomas and Angela Strussion.

A jury on June 3 found Dalton Ray guilty of the third-degree felony charge in Belmont County Common Pleas Court. Judge Chris Berhalter handed down Ray’s sentence Tuesday, opting to impose 30 months in prison rather than the maximum possible 36 months.

Assistant Prosecutor Joe Vavra, who represented the state at trial, told Berhalter Tuesday that the state believed a “significant” sentence would be appropriate, given Ray’s extensive prior criminal record and the fact that he was on probation at the time of the offense.

Ray’s defense attorney, Logan Graham, acknowledged Ray’s criminal history and said he did not believe Ray intended or expected to cause any physical harm to anyone. He said Ray has shown remorse and said recidivism of this offense was unlikely because the same circumstances are not likely to occur again.

“He just simply was so scared and didn’t want to be a part of it,” Graham told the judge while suggesting a less severe sentence of perhaps nine to 12 months in prison.

When Berhalter asked Ray if he would like to speak on his own behalf, Ray declined the opportunity.

Berhalter then admonished Ray for lying to the investigators.

“Mr. Ray, you had the right to remain silent. It’s all over TV and the movies. And even with that aside, with your extensive record, you had to know you had that right. But if you choose not to exercise that right and you speak to law enforcement, you cannot lie to them. And that’s what you did here.

“You impeded the investigation into a double murder,” the judge continued. “Resources that could have been used to further that investigation had to be used to prove that you lied in furtherance of their investigation. You wasted time, you wasted resources, and you delayed victims’ families from getting answers. And for what? As you sit here now, you face another prison sentence.”

Citing Ray’s criminal history that includes convictions for assault and battery, assault on a police officer, escape, theft, evading arrest, facilitating sexual conduct with a minor and burglary, among other offenses, Berhalter said Ray has not responded favorably to sanctions from the courts, evidenced by three probation violations.

Berhalter then sentenced Ray to 30 months in prison with credit for 84 days served with post-release controls of up to two years. If he were to violate those post-release controls, he could be subject to additional prison time. He must reimburse the state and county for all costs associated with his case and submit a DNA sample.

Ray has up to 30 days to appeal his conviction and sentence. Graham declined to comment on whether he intends to file an appeal.

“Good luck, Mr. Ray,” Berhalter concluded.

Vavra said the state is very satisfied with the 30-month sentence. He said the investigation involving Ray was “all done in Oklahoma, so it involved a lot of transportation, a lot of costs, a lot of time. … so it hung up the overall murder investigation for at least a few months.”

According to Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan, the evidence at trial showed that detectives from Ohio traveled to Oklahoma to interview Ray in July 2024 regarding any information that he may have involving the deaths of the Strussions, who were found dead inside their home on Trails End Drive near Belmont after witnesses saw smoke coming from the structure and attempted to rescue anyone who was inside.

Ray lied about knowing the murder suspect, Andrew Isaac Griffin, and about being involved in the sale of a motorcycle Griffin is believed to have used to come and go from the Strussions’ home on the night they were killed.

“Shortly after that, the officers again discovered that he just outright lied,” Vavra said of Ray. “They went back to interview him a second time on August 13 of 2024, and, once again, he started out by lying completely for those same two primary reasons. He lied about some other things, and ultimately, he started to begin to tell the truth, which, at that point, he fled the interview. He ran from the officers and then led them on a high-speed chase in the state of Oklahoma to get away from them to avoid the interview.”

Flanagan said local detectives, knowing Ray was not being truthful, secured an arrest warrant to bring Ray back to Ohio. Ray was already on probation from a Texas conviction and fled but was eventually apprehended, according to Flanagan. The prosecutor said his office worked with the Texas authorities to return Ray to Belmont County after he finished his jail sentence in Texas for violating his Texas probation.