BUCYRUS — A Bucyrus man escaped prison after he pleaded guilty to five counts of trafficking in drugs, each a fourth-degree felony and each punishable with up to 18 months in prison.
Charles Irwin, 52, of Bucyrus was arrested and charged after a raid on his Dudley St. residence in February. The raid netted over 50 firearms and various drugs.
Because Ohio Law stipulates that multiple fourth-and-fifth-degree felonies must be considered as one unit for sentencing purposes, Irwin was not eligible for prison.
As a result of a plea agreement, Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Irwin to 18 months on each of the five counts for a total of 90 months in prison if he fails to complete the terms and conditions of his community control over the next five years.
Irwin will forfeit over the 50 firearms, computers, security cameras, coins and various other items discovered in the raid. He will also surrender over $40,000 in both cash and monies held in various bank accounts.
“Because of the sentencing laws in Ohio you are not prison eligible. These are all fourth-degree felonies,” Leuthold said. “You are skating out of here. You will forfeit a lot of money and firearms. Your days of messing with guns and drugs are over. I know you were trading drugs for guns. Your entrepreneurship ends today. I’d send you to prison if I could. I despise drug dealers. The good news for you is that you’re not going to prison today. But the bad news is if you mess up your community control, you are going to prison for about seven-and-a-half years. If you come back here, you will not like seeing me again.”
Even though Leuthold said he did not believe Irwin used drugs himself, he still ordered a drug and alcohol assessment and any follow-up treatment required. All forfeited monies and property will be divided among the appropriate recipients.
In other court action, John Murrell, 30, of Bucyrus pleaded guilty to one count of criminal child non-support, a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to one year in prison.
Murrell told the court he would rather receive a prison sentence than try to abide by the conditions of community control.
Leuthold sentenced Murrell to a flat six months in prison and ordered him to report to the Crawford County Justice System by 7 p.m. today to report for transport to prison.
Kensie Brown, 29, of Galion pleaded guilty to one count of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony punishable with up to one year in prison.
Brown was originally scheduled for a pre-trial but was drug tested prior to court. The urine screen resulted in a positive test for Suboxone and alcohol. Brown was taken into custody after the drug test.
In a plea negotiation, Leuthold sentenced Brown a flat six months in prison. He told Brown he would not oppose transitional control if the prison requested it.