Judge orders convicted Columbiana County killer to stop filing lawsuits
A former Columbiana County man serving life in prison for killing and dismembering his roommate has been ordered to stop filing lawsuits against the Columbiana County Prosecutor and others involved in his case.
Visiting Judge Emmett O’Farrell handed down a judgment this week declaring 54-year-old Terry Brown a vexatious litigator, which under Ohio law is a person who has” habitually, persistently, and without reasonable grounds engaged in vexatious conduct in a civil action or actions, whether in the court of claims or a court of appeals, court of common pleas, municipal court, or county court.”
The judgment comes six months after Columbiana County Prosecutor Vito Abruzzino complained that since Brown was sentenced six years ago, he has "habitually, persistently, and without reasonable grounds, filed multiple post-conviction motions, appeals, and civil actions attempting to collaterally attack his conviction."
In his ruling, Judge O’Farrell found that Brown’s civil actions were not warranted under existing law couldn’t be supported by a good faith argument for a reversal of existing law, and “served merely to harass or maliciously injure the other parties to the civil actions and/or appeals; and were filed and/or pursued solely for delay.”
Brown, representing himself in each legal filing, is now prohibited from instituting legal proceedings in the Court of Claims, the Court of Common Pleas, the Municipal Court, or the County Court in the State of Ohio without prior court approval.
Brown was convicted of aggravated murder, murder, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence for the 2017 shooting death of Scottie Johnson whose dismembered body was found in a pile of trash inside the home they shared.
Brown’s girlfriend, Alicia Rogenski, was handed a sentence of fifteen years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and robbery for her role in the crime.
According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Brown won’t be eligible for his first parole hearing until 2038.
The Columbiana County Clerk of Courts received another motion from Brown three days after Judge O'Farrell's ruling declaring him a vexatious litigator.