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WARREN -- The former Warren police officer who is charged with staging a fake shooting and robbery attempt while off-duty Jan. 13, appeared in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Tuesday morning for re-arraignment on three felony charges and a misdemeanor.
Noah Linnen, 23, of 646 Poland Ave., Struthers, pleaded not guilty before Judge Andrew D. Logan on charges of tampering with evidence, inducing panic, disrupting public services and falsification. He was arraigned Jan. 23 before Judge Ronald Rice but according to Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Burnett, the case had to be re-arraigned after it was switched to a different judge on a Jan. 30 grand jury indictment on the same four charges.
Linnen told four different versions of the Jan. 13 incident that led to at least 50 different law enforcement officers from 10 agencies combing the streets for a black man in a black SUV who shot at him during a robbery. According to the last version detailed in an affidavit, Linnen stated he attempted to shoot himself in the shoulder and fabricated a detailed description of a black man and a robbery attempt in order to hide the fact he fired his service weapon, the affidavit states.
Linnen remains free on $10,000 bond and his next hearing before Logan is set for Feb. 25. Linnen was fired by police Chief Eric Merkel on Jan. 22.
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