T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan appears in front of Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Chris Berhalter.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE –2025 has been an unusual year for Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan.

He said that in all of his years in law, 2025 was the first year he’s seen three major convictions be eligible for parole in one year. He added that the prosecutor’s office is tasked with many obligations in addition to criminal proceedings, including being involved in parole hearings with the Ohio Parole Authority on cases that originated in Belmont County.

“2025 was unique as there were three separate parole hearings involving Belmont County homicide cases,” Flanagan said.

He added that attended all three and provided letters arguing against parole.

The first parole hearing that he attended in 2025 was the case of John R. Fulkerson who was charged with killing his four-year-old daughter in 1981. Fulkerson was again denied parole.

The second parole hearing he attended was Leroy Charley whose parole was also denied.

Flanagan said that he actually tried that case in 2005 as a special prosecutor assigned to handle the matter by then-Prosecutor Chris Berhalter given a conflict with that office’s representation.

The last parole hearing Flanagan attended was the hearing for Nathan Brooks parole.

Brooks was a juvenile when he was charged with killing his parents in 1995.

Brooks’ case shocked the Ohio Valley and garnered national attention when it occurred. In addition to national attention, an independent television series called “The Devil in Bellaire” was created detailing the gruesome details of Brooks murdering both of his parents and creating a hit list that was found after his arrest. Flanagan said that Brooks’ parole was also denied.

He then joked that those three parole hearings made him feel old due to being involved with both Brooks and Charley’s original hearings.

Another major case Flanagan was involved with in 2025 was Andrew Isaac Griffin being arrested and charged with the 2021 double homicide of Thomas and Angela Strussion.

“Many of the cases that were presented for prosecution in 2025 to our grand juries over the last year will be heard in 2026,” Flanagan said. “One such case is the double homicide of Angela and Thomas Strussion which occurred in 2021. Andrew Griffin was indicted in February 2025 on capital murder charges and trial is scheduled for March 2, 2026.”

One of the most curious cases Flanagan tried in 2025 was Malcolm Alcindor Williams’ attempted murder case where the over-the-road truck driver from Alabama, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of shooting another trucker, Michael Brundage, in the face in January 2024.

In that case, Williams pulled to the side of I-470 pretending that he was going to provide aid to another disabled trucker. Instead, he shot the other truck driver in the face. Flanagan said that the scariest part about that crime was that there was no provocation.

“We simply still have no motive. He pulled over to the side of the road, walked to the other truck driver and shot him in the face. He then got back in his truck and continued his route,” Flanagan said. “That’s the scary part. I mean, if you pick up the phone and say ‘Kevin, you’re the worst prosecutor we’ve ever seen.’ And I get mad and get my gun. That’s not right. I shouldn’t shoot you, but at least people know why I did. The monster becomes the guy that just does it for – I don’t even want to call it the thrill – but just for no reason.”

2025 also saw the trial of Holloway’s Mayor Joseph Schaeffer. He was convicted of threats made to the Office of the Belmont County Auditor.

Schaeffer threatened to blow up the courthouse over a disagreement he had with the auditor’s office. Flanagan said that Schaeffer’s actions scared the employees of that office and such conduct simply could not be tolerated. The trial occurred in June 2025 resulting in a jail sentence for Schaeffer.

Flanagan added that the Drug Unit from the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office as well as many other local law enforcement agencies were very active in 2025.

“They are always looking to thwart drug activity before it begins. They were very proactive and launched a number of raids on various motel rooms and rental properties,” he said. “We had some multi-year investigations coming together in late 2024 to 2025 that focused on those bringing drugs in or through Belmont County. In that timeframe, we had five individual drug cases involving people from outside of this area culminating in combined sentences of over 80 years.”

Flanagan added that there were a number of cases that the office argued in 2025 in front of the Seventh Appellate District which is located in Mahoning County. Notably, the case of Siqi Yu who was a participant in a nationwide scam.

In the Yu case, the prosecution argued that Yu’s conviction should be upheld. The prosecutor explained that Yu was one of many individuals who perpetrated a scam to defraud money by computer or telephone. Yu, who crossed into the country illegally and then sought asylum, had the job of traveling around the country to collect money from victims who were scammed by other members of a criminal organization.

“I have zero tolerance for scammers. They prey upon vulnerable people and many times deplete the life savings of these folks. Siqi Yu got an eight-to-11 year sentence, and he deserves every day of it,” Flanagan said. “While we only had one victim from Belmont County in this particular scam, we indicted the case under a law known as ‘Pattern of Corrupt Activity’ which gave us the ability to elevate Yu’s sentence.”

The Seventh Appellate District upheld the conviction of Yu in 2025 and the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear any additional appeal from Yu. Flanagan said that he anticipates his office will present other individuals associated with the scam to the Belmont County Grand Jury in the coming months.

“We plan to go after as many individuals involved with this scam as we can,” Flanagan said. “The fact that we have a Belmont County victim gives us the jurisdiction to do so.”