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Attempted murder case on hold for sanity evaluation

| January 29, 2025

John McNutt (Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office)

NEW PHILADELPHIA – The trial of a man accused of attacking a Dover gas station attendant with a hammer is on hold indefinitely as he undergoes a sanity evaluation.

Police say 39-year-old John McNutt on Dec. 9 attempted to rob the Wooster Avenue Speedway, hitting the female clerk in the head with a hammer. She was able to get out, and he left the store empty-handed. Police found him a short while later walking down the road.

A grand jury indicted McNutt on Dec. 20 on felony assault, robbery and attempted murder charges.

McNutt pleaded not guilty on Jan. 9 while he was being held in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Days later Judge Elizabeth Thomakos delayed a trial indefinitely after granting the defendant’s motion for an evaluation to determine if McNutt is competent to stand trial. He is being evaluated at the Forensic Diagnostic Center in Cambridge.

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