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WARREN -- A state prison inmate was indicted on a perjury charge by a Trumbull County grand jury Thursday after he was found to have lied about his military status during a jury trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
The indictment comes after Kotey Paden, 32, was sentenced April 1 to two years by Judge Cynthia Rice on charges of third-degree felony strangulation, misdemeanor domestic violence and child endangering.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabe Wildman, working alongside Herm Breuer, director of the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission, checked into Paden's military records during Paden's jury trial to prove the defendant lied on the witness stand about being a combat veteran in Syria and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician.
Prosecutors say paperwork indicates Paden had been dishonorably discharged April 1, 2022, due to "misconduct and serious offenses."
After this was discovered, Paden chose to plead guilty to the charges against him. Paden is currently being held at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio but had a bench warrant issued Thursday as he's due to appear before Judge Andrew D. Logan on May 14 at 8:30 a.m. for his arraignment.
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