POLAND TOWNSHIP — A man is in custody after police say he intentionally hit a candidate for Struthers Municipal Court with his car.

Timothy Lucas, 52, of East Liverpool, appeared by video on Monday in that same courtroom on a second-degree felony charge of assault.

Lucas made no plea and was awarded court-appointed counsel. Judge Dominic Leone set a $50,000, 10 percent surety bond, and set a pretrial hearing for Monday.

The person Lucas allegedly hit, attorney Jennifer Ciccone of Poland, seeks to preside over the very same courtroom this time next year. Ciccone, a family law and divorce attorney with an office in Canfield, is the Republican nominee for the seat and will face Democrat James Melone in the November election. Melone defeated Leone in the May primary.

The Poland Township police report states the incident occurred at Ciccone’s home on Four Seasons Trail in Poland on Sunday afternoon.

Ciccone issued a statement by email to the Vindicator on Tuesday.

“On July 23, 2023, I was the victim of a heinous act of violence at my own home,” she said. “This incident has only strengthened my resolve to fight for justice, as I continue my career and campaign as the Republican candidate to be the next judge of Struthers Municipal Court.”

According to the report, Ciccone told police she had groceries delivered from Poland Giant Eagle, and Lucas was the delivery driver. Lucas and Ciccone got into an argument after he asked for her ID because the order contained alcohol.

Ciccone said she had misplaced her driver’s license but attempted to show Lucas a valid passport. She said he became angered when asked what company he worked for. Lucas said he was canceling her order and putting her on a “do not deliver” list, according to the report.

Ciccone and other witnesses at the scene told police that when she stood behind Lucas’s vehicle to write down his license plate number, he allegedly put the car in reverse, backed up and struck her. Then he pulled forward, reversed and struck her again, causing arm and leg injuries, according to the report.

While police were at the address, they put out an all-points bulletin on Lucas’s vehicle. Other officers on duty spotted the car on McKinley Way in Poland Village and pulled Lucas over. The report states that Lucas admitted to hitting Ciccone, but he said it was her fault. He was arrested and booked into the Mahoning County jail, where he remained as of Tuesday.

“I have always had faith in the justice system, and it is this faith that now guides me as I navigate through my own personal struggle for justice,” Ciccone said. “I will now rely on the same system that I have upheld in my professional life, and I trust that it will serve justice as it is meant to do.”