CANTON ‒ Criminal cases against two people associated with missing Canton man Ryan T. “JJ” Godbey have been sent to a Stark County grand jury.
Both defendants were charged with criminal trespass and aggravated possession of drugs after being arrested June 24 in a vacant building in the 1200 block of Walnut Avenue NE. Detectives had gone to the location to speak with them about Godbey.
Judge Mary Falvey sent both of their cases to the grand jury after they waived their rights to preliminary hearings about the evidence against them in Canton Municipal Court on June 30.
The defendants are a 33-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman. Court records identify him as a Massillon resident and her as a Canton resident, and indicate both are homeless.
The woman is being held in the Stark County Jail on a $50,000 bond initially put in place June 26.
Canton Prosecutor Katie Erchick Gilbert asked Falvey to keep same bond, noting that the defendant is “involved in a case that involves a missing person under suspicious circumstances.”
Public defender Thomas F. Higgins asked the judge to put his client, the woman, on supervised pre-trial release.
The man was represented by defense attorney Aaron Kovalchik. He did not ask for modification of the $75,000 bond that was set in municipal court on June 26.
Police continue investigating the disappearance of Godbey, 26, who was last seen at a downtown nightclub June 19. The northwest Canton resident’s last known text, sent to a friend at 12:27 a.m. June 20, said that a man named Danny was upset. He did not reply to a text from his friend.
A community vigil is planned for July 2 at Darlin’s CREW, 304 Cherry Ave. NE.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Two people associated with missing Canton man Ryan Godbey appear in court
Reporting by Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
