By Krystal Smalley
ksmalley@wbcowqel.com
The man dubbed the “biggest drug dealer this county has ever seen” will be spending the next two decades behind bars.
Thirty-nine-year-old Khabeer Brown, of Galion, pleaded guilty Monday to two amended counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, both first-degree felonies that carry maximum prison sentences of 11 years. The remaining charges brought against Brown were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea.
Crawford County Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Brown to consecutive 10-year prison sentences and mandatory five years on post-release control. Leuthold waived the fine in the case, but ordered Brown to forfeit drug-related property being held to the Bucyrus Police Department along with $1,250 in cash that was seized during a drug bust in March. In addition to the cash, Brown forfeited $72,975.05 in U.S. currency across five banking accounts, a matter which he previously filed a civil suit against.
Brown spoke clearly and concisely while Leuthold reviewed his rights.
“It took persistence, it took patience, ingenuity, Your Honor, to finally get this investigation done with an arrest,” assistant prosecutor Ryan Hoovler said as he commended the Bucyrus Police Department during the hearing. “The result is, I think, the biggest drug bust in Bucyrus, Ohio criminal justice history.”
Hoovler noted that police seized heroin and cocaine in a street value over $300,000. The final tally of drugs seized from two homes in Bucyrus and Galion on March 22 totaled 6.4 kilograms of cocaine and 557.95 grams of heroin.
“Khabeer Brown is pleading guilty because he is guilty,” defense attorney Samuel Shamansky stated. “He takes full responsibility for his conduct.”
After Brown chose not to make a statement on his own behalf, Leuthold let out a sigh in preparation of addressing the defendant sitting in front of him.
“Simply put, Mr. Brown is probably the biggest drug dealer this county has ever seen,” Leuthold stated, though he believed Brown played the role of a drug supplier more than a dealer.
“Mr. Brown probably supplied most of the folks who were dealing drugs in this particular county. I’m sure he had a network of dealers who were selling drugs to the public in Crawford County,” Leuthold added.
The judge refused to say anything negative toward Brown or to chastise him, but Leuthold left the defendant with one statement that has been repeated in the courtroom over and over in one form or another since he took the bench.
“Major crimes get major time,” Leuthold told Brown. “Drug supplying, anything involving heroin is not going to be treated lightly in Crawford County. It’s never going to be treated lightly again.
“For anyone out there that thinks they can get rich and live large, have a great time through the sale, manufacture or distribution of harmful drugs better think again. Because while I’m sure Mr. Brown probably profited briefly, in the end he’s going to prison for 20 years. That’s usually how these things end up,” Leuthold said.
He credited Brown for appearing to be a bright individual, but regretted the lost future Brown could have had if he’d chosen a different route.
County prosecutor Matthew Crall released the following statement in regards to the Brown case:
“This case is a great example of a persistent and patient investigation by the Bucyrus Police Department. The information was first received in 2014 by another agency. Nearly two years and several warrants later, an arrest was finally made. The results were telling: over 6.4 kilograms of cocaine and 557.95 grams of heroin.
“As a result of this arrest, we saw a noticeable difference in the amount of drugs on the street in our community.
“This forfeited money can only be used by the agencies in our efforts to eradicate the City of Bucyrus and Crawford County of Illegal Drugs. We use these monies to train our officers and purchase equipment. By using these illegally gained monies, taxpayers save money.
“Today our community should be thanking the Bucyrus Police Department, specifically, Captain Neil Assenheimer and Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoover for their diligent work in apprehending this offender.”
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