Ex-Montgomery County asst. prosecutor guilty

UPDATE @ 5:40 p.m. (Sept. 22): Johnna Shia, a former assistant Montgomery County prosecutor, has pleaded guilty to a charge of OVI at a hearing in Cambridge Municipal Court today.

According to court record, she changed her plea of not guilty to guilty on the original charge — OVI — and the case prosecutor dismissed a second charge of OVI.

Shia was fined $600 and her driver’s license is suspended until July 19, 2016. She is to be in court on Oct. 22.

Shia resigned in August, said Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.

UPDATE @ 10:10 p.m. (Aug. 10): WHIO - TV has obtained cruiser cam footage from the Ohio Highway Patrol's stop of Johnna Shia, an assistant Montgomery County prosecutor, who was suspected of operating a vehicle while intoxicated in July.

The stop in eastern Ohio culminated in her being charged with OVI.

This is just over two minutes taken from about 30 minutes of cruiser cam video.

UPDATE @ 5:04 p.m. (July 23)

A witness whose vehicle was struck by one driven by Johnna Shia, a Montgomery County assistant prosecutor, told officers Shia was driving erratically moments before the crash, state patrol Lt. James Tracey said.

There were children in the vehicle Shia struck, but they were not injured, said the trooper with the patrol post in Cambridge.

Shia didn’t stop after the crash and continued on toward nearby Cambridge, a city in Guernsey County. Troopers in Belmont County alerted the Cambridge post and an officer was on the lookout for Shia’s black Jeep, Tracey said.

Shortly after she crossed the county line, a trooper pulled Shia over and questioned her about the damage on her vehicle. Tracey said Shia told the trooper the damage was old and she didn’t know what the officer was talking about.

“The trooper (smelled) a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage,” said Tracey. “She admitted to drinking at a relative’s house that day and was on her way back home.”

The trooper gave Shia a field sobriety test, which cannot be used as evidence in court, and confirmed a .134 blood alcohol level, said Tracey. The legal limit in Ohio is .08. Shia was arrested and charged on two counts of OVI and OVI second refusal, a charge that results from a person having been charged with a new OVI within 20 years of a first such offense.

She has prior OVI charges from 2006 and 2012, Tracey said.

Greg Flannagan, spokesman for Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr.’s office, said, the office is aware of the incident.

When asked whether Shia has been placed on leave, Flannagan said Shia’s situation involves a personnel matter the office will not discuss right now.

FIRST REPORT

A Montgomery County assistant prosecutor fled an OVI crash earlier this week in eastern Ohio, troopers say.

The Daily Jeffersonian in Cambridge, Ohio, reported that 44-year-old Johnna M. Shia of Springboro was driving under the influence when she drove away around 3:20 p.m. Monday after she allegedly caused a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 in Belmont County.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol charged Shia with operating a vehicle while under the influence; OVI second offense refusal; hit-skip (property damage); and cited her for failure to maintain assured clear distance ahead, the newspaper reported.

According to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office website, Shia is one of five attorneys in “Team 1” of four trial teams.