Douglas M. Casteel, Lucian A. Lambes, Ian A. Cultrona, and Samantha S. Owen were each the subject of eight-count indictments for their alleged roles in the December 5th shooting of a juvenile in Oxford Township. 

New Philadelphia, Ohio - A Tuscarawas County grand jury has returned multi-count indictments against four of the five people implicated in the shooting of a teenager during an attempted robbery in Oxford Township. 

Douglas M. Casteel, Lucian A. Lambes, Ian A. Cultrona and Samantha S. Owen were indicted on January 17th — each on three counts of attempted murder, one count of aggravated robbery, three counts of felonious assault, and one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. 

Casteel and Lambes are accused of firing on an SUV during an attempted robbery on Liberty Road on December 5th, and Cultrona and Owen accused of colluding with Casteel and Lambes to set up that robbery. 

 "They each have different roles that we believe they are playing in this but they are all acting essentially in concert with one another in carrying out what was an attempted robbery," explains Tuscarawas County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Ernest.

The three-count charges are for each of the victims who were in that SUV, including a 17-year-old whose fingertip was severed by a bullet that entered the vehicle as the driver attempted to flee the scene. 

All eight counts against each of the suspects include three-year firearms specifications, which would result in mandatory prison time if convicted. Casteel and Lambes are also each charged with a five-year firearm specification for allegedly being in the vehicle from which the firearms were discharged.

Ernest says those specifications were selected based on the individual's alleged role in the incident.

"Under Ohio law, there is a three-year gun specification merely for brandishing the weapon. There can also be a five-year gun specification for firing the weapon from a motor vehicle," he says. "We would anticipate that those five-year gun specifications would be applicable to Lambes and Casteel but couldn’t possibly apply to the other two, as weapons were discharged at the victims as they were traveling down the road and the evidence is clear that Cultrona and Owen were not moving down the road at any point firing weapons." 

Lisa A. Freetage of West Lafayette was also arrested during the investigation for allegedly allowing Casteel and Lambes to use her vehicle to commit the robbery. She was previously charged with complicity to commit aggravated robbery and released on her own recognizance. Ernest says he's not at liberty to talk about her alleged role in the incident at this time, as her case still pending in the grand jury. 

The three men are all being held in the Tuscarawas County Jail on $1 million bonds and are set to appear in court later this week for arraignment. Owen was also released on her own recognizance and will appear in court at a later date. If convicted on all the charges, Casteel and Lambes face up to a maximum of 27 years in prison, and Cultrona and Owen a maximum of 25 years in prison.