Area man due in court on murder charge

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Barring a plea of no contest or guilty, a open murder case in Paulding County won’t be resolved until sometime in 2026.

Corbin Delgado, 21, of Grover Hill, is awaiting trial on charges of murder, an unclassified felony; felonious assault, a second degree felony, and first degree misdemeanor assault. He’s accused of fatally stabbing of another Grover Hill man, Derek Pontius, 40, in May.

Delgado is scheduled to appear in Paulding County Common Pleas Court for a pre-trial hearing on Monday, December 22. It’s expected that trial dates will be established at the hearing. Delgado was originally scheduled to stand trial August 27-29, but it was delayed indefinitely after he requested to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. He also requested a new attorney. 

“I Corbin Delgado wish to request new legal council (sp) for ineffectiveness of council (sp),” he said in a handwritten letter to Judge Tiffany Beckman. “(Court appointed attorney) John Hopkins refuses to effectively represent my case based on both the facts of the case and my wishes as his client. He continues to cause undue delay and is misrepresenting before the court.”

He underwent a mental health evaluation and was later found competent to stand trial and withdrew his request for new legal counsel. However, paperwork filed with the court November 21 indicates Hopkins withdrew as Delgado’s lawyer, and attorney Zachary Maisch was appointed as his new attorney.

Paulding County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a disturbance in the 16000 block of Road 24, southwest of Grover Hill, shortly before 1 a.m. May 27. The initial caller reported a male was being argumentative and had a knife. Deputies arrived at the scene within minutes and found Pontius, suffering from stab wounds. Life saving measures were administered by deputies and members of the Grover Hill EMS and Pontius was transported to OhioHealth Van Wert Hospital, but was pronounced dead.

Delgado was identified as the suspect in the attack but he had fled the scene on foot. Within an hour, a deputy located him in the Village of Grover Hill and a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol assisted the deputy in apprehending Delgado. He was booked in the Paulding County Jail, where he remains in lieu of $1 million bond with a 10 percent provision. In September, a motion made by Delgado to modify his bond was denied by Judge Beckman.