St. Clairsville man sentenced in Scio standoff case

In a case that began just last November around Thanksgiving, has already come to a resolution, which is relatively quick in felony cases. Justin M. Stapp, 41, of St. Clairsville, was arrested in Scio but not before much drama after being confronted by four sheriff’s offices and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Stapp, who was being hunted for a previous charge and reported to be hiding in the Scio area, initially did not give up easily. When authorities arrived he pulled his weapon and fired but it’s not clear whether he actually fired at any officers. After a long standoff and lengthy negotiations Stapp agreed to give up and no injuries occurred.

He was arraigned in mid-December where he faced seven felony charges with four being of the first degree for felonious assault and the remaining three being felonies of the third degree for weapons under disability. All the pre-trial hearings were set with a trial date scheduled for March 24 but Stapp wanted none of that when he appeared in front of Judge T. Shawn Hervey for his March 10 hearing and argued against his attorney’s wishes, Public Defender C. Adrian Pincola and expressed his desire to plead guilty.

“I believe I owe for the crime I’ve committed,” Stapp told Hervey after complaining he’d been pushed out of court three times.

Stapp, if convicted at trial, was facing 56 to 60.5 years in prison and a $130,000 fine. For his four felonious assault charges alone, 8- to 12- year sentences come with each of them and 36 months for his WUD charges with those running consecutively on top of his assault time. But with his plea, Hervey sentenced him between 14 to 18 years prison time for his first degree felonies to run concurrently but must serve his weapons charges first.

Hervey expressed his relief that no one was injured during the standoff noting the situation could have gone the other way and said he appreciated Stapp for taking responsibility for his actions, also noting that many do not when appearing in his court.

“I’m certainly grateful that God decided that someone didn’t die,” Hervey said.