Vehicle arson conviction reversed
By:
Larry Limpf
The conviction of a woman for the 2019 arson of a vehicle at a hotel on Oregon Road in Northwood has been reversed by the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. Brooke Marie Maxcy-Tipton had been convicted in Wood County Common Pleas Court of a fourth-degree felony charge to which she had pled guilty and was sentenced to community control and to register as an arson offender. In her appeal, Maxcy-Tipton argued her legal counsel during the trial was ineffective and the state’s arson registry statute is unconstitutional. Ohio’s arson offender registry statute requires that an offender register annually with a county sheriff unless the trial court limits the registration requirement to more than the mandatory 10-year minimum but less than the lifetime obligation.