Loudonville Man Held on $750K Bond in Brutal Assault of His Mother; Prosecutor Signals More Charges Likely in Bond Video
ASHLAND COUNTY, OH — A Loudonville man is being held on a $750,000 bond after allegedly beating his mother so severely she remains in critical condition.
Matthew J. DeWitt, 29, appeared via Zoom Thursday afternoon, June 5, before Ashland County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Paul T. Lange for a bond hearing on one count of Felonious Assault, a second-degree felony under Ohio Revised Code 2903.11. The charge stems from a violent incident that occurred Tuesday at 722 North Market Street in Loudonville.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Metcalf, of the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Criminal Division, requested the high bond and outlined disturbing details of the case in open court.
“Thank you, Your Honor. The state’s going to be requesting a $750,000 cash bond in this case,” Metcalf said. “I see it currently as one count of felonious assault, but that is likely—very likely—to change, at least with more counts and hopefully more significant ones.”
“Factually, I think the court should know in setting a bond for this case, Loudonville Police were dispatched to a domestic violence call where the victim may not be breathing. They get there. Mr. DeWitt was in the front yard, leaning on a fence, shirtless, covered in blood. The victim of the offense is his mother. He had aggressively beaten her, and he was aggressive with law enforcement officers when they arrived on scene. They had to deploy two sets of tasers on Mr. DeWitt. He was telling them to kill him. At that point, he did not seem to want to be apprehended.”
“They did a search after his arrest, and there was a meth-infested… found on his person, as well as a search of the house and methamphetamine found in his room. He does have a criminal history. He’s been to prison four times—once for aggravated arson in 2013, where he served five years, then again for drug possession in 2018, 2019, and multiple offenses in 2022. All of these resulted in prison time.”
“The victim in this matter is still currently in critical condition. If that worsens, he could be facing a possible murder charge. As far as felonious assault goes, this is one of the most egregious forms of the offense that you could commit. I think if found guilty—which the evidence is very strong against Mr. DeWitt—he’d be facing a very lengthy prison sentence. Because of that, and because of his history, we are asking for that high cash bond and no contact with the victim or the victim’s family.”
Magistrate Lange granted the state’s request and imposed strict conditions along with the bond. In addition to the $750,000 amount, DeWitt must:
Not leave the state of Ohio
Appear at all future court hearings
Keep the court informed of his current address and phone number
Submit to random drug and alcohol testing at his own expense
Enroll in the court’s monitoring program
Be subject to GPS tracking with 24/7 house confinement if released
Have no contact with the victim or her family and remain at least 500 feet from her residence
DeWitt acknowledged understanding the bond conditions during the video hearing.
The incident occurred shortly after noon on June 3. According to Loudonville Police, officers were dispatched to a domestic assault in progress, where the caller indicated the victim “may not be breathing.” Officers arrived to find DeWitt in the front yard, bloodied and combative. After deploying tasers, officers secured DeWitt and found his mother inside the home suffering from life-threatening injuries.
She was transported by Loudonville EMS to a helipad and flown to Summa Health in Akron.
In a public Facebook post, Dennis Newcomer, the victim’s husband, stated:
“The domestic violence was done by a son who had previously been asked to leave the house, barging in to steal a car to get more meth. I have been with my wife all night in the ICU. Don’t always assume the husband is at fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame Appleseed [Community Mental Health Center], where this son was taken multiple times—usually by force—only to be released after a few hours.”
The investigation is ongoing, with additional charges possible. Assisting in the case are the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, Ashland Police Division, Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Green-Perrysville Joint Fire District.
