Nimishillen Township candidate for fiscal officer charged with domestic violence

Robert Wang, Canton Repository
Updated ·2 min read
A gavel on a table.
A gavel on a table.

NIMISHILLEN TWP. − A candidate for township fiscal officer was arrested Saturday on a fifth-degree felony charge of domestic violence.

Brandon R. Evans, 41, of Beech Street NE, was booked into the Stark County Jail.

According to a criminal complaint filed by a Stark County Sheriff's Office deputy, Evans is accused of trying to harm a pregnant woman by pulling her off a couch at his home on Friday. The woman's pregnancy raised the charge to a felony from a misdemeanor.

Evans did not respond to a text message to his phone number seeking comment.

His attorney, Eugene O'Byrne, said Tuesday afternoon that he expected his client will be exonerated. He said his client left the house to protect himself and called police three times. O'Byrne said the woman was not injured.

“He left the house to get away from her. He never touched her. He never tried to cause any physical harm. I think the case will be dismissed. The problem is it probably won’t be dismissed by Election Day," said O'Bryne, who described it as a "complete misunderstanding."

Evans' attorney said he did not know what led to the incident.

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Evans was arraigned Monday before Canton Municipal Court Judge Curt Werren.

Werren set an unsecured bond of $25,000, which allowed Evans under the supervision of pre-trial release to be released from jail without having to post any cash. The judge also ordered Evans to have no contact with the woman, which is a standard order in a criminal case.

The judge scheduled a status conference hearing with attorneys in the case on Wednesday.

Evans and Sandy Smith are the two candidates seeking to succeed Todd Bosley as Nimishillen Township fiscal officer. Bosley is running for Nimishillen Township trustee against Kyle J. Fausnight, Kirk Greaves, Mark Thomas and incumbent Don Keefe.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly known as Twitter: @rwangREP.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Nimishillen fiscal officer candidate charged with domestic violence