By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
After opposing attorneys debated several issues during the course of Tyler Ward’s drug trafficking trial, a jury of eight women and four men debated his innocence or guilt for one hour and 55 minutes.
They found him guilty on four of five counts in the grand jury indictment on Friday afternoon in Crawford County Common Pleas Court. The lone count the jury found Ward not guilty of was one of two felony four drug trafficking charges involving fentanyl.
The jury found the 25-year-old Ward guilty of two counts of felony 5 drug trafficking for heroin, one count of felony 5 drug trafficking for alprazolam, and one count of felony 4 drug trafficking for fentanyl.
With the jury present in the courtroom, Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced Ward to maximum sentences on each of the four counts – 12 months for each felony 5 count and 18 months on the felony 4 count for a total of 54 months. Ward was also fined $6,250.
“There is no doubt in this court’s mind that this defendant is a professional drug dealer,” Judge Leuthold said. “I haven’t seen one ounce of remorse from this defendant.”
Citing the number of deaths throughout Ohio, including Crawford County, attributed to fentanyl-laced heroin, the judge continued in noting the two controlled buys from Ward by a confidential informant was enough for approximately 20 doses. The judge then posed the question of what might have happened had the purchases of heroin from Ward on July 7 and Aug. 9 been to someone other than the confidential informant.
“How many people would have used that heroin in Crawford County? How many would have died,” Leuthold asked rhetorically and called Ward dangerous, disgusting, cold and calloused. “This defendant didn’t care. We could have been figuring how many body bags we needed to bury people.”
Crawford County Prosecutor Matthew Crall praised the efforts of Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Hoovler who tried the case as well as the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office detectives and the county probation department involved in the investigation and subsequent arrest. Crall said that the investigation, conviction and sentence was a message.
“I think the message is very clear that trafficking in heroin and fentanyl is not acceptable in our county. It’s a strong message (to) not bring it here,” Crall said. “As the judge said, fentanyl is so dangerous. It’s killing people. On behalf of the residents of Crawford County, I, the Sheriff’s Office, my office are doing everything we can to keep the substance out of our community.”
Hoovler and defense attorney Joel Spitzer were both prepared for some legal jousting before the jury was brought in to hear final arguments. The issues included whether wording in the Ohio Revised Code required that a person know the content of what might be in the controlled substance being sold in order to be charged with selling that substance, namely fentanyl.
Spitzer also challenged the validity of the indictment against Ward based on the way the Ohio Revised Code was actually cited in the indictment.
Ward, who admitted on the stand during his testimony Thursday that he sold heroin and alprazolam to the confidential informant, steadfastly denied knowing the heroin had been mixed with fentanyl. It was Spitzer’s contention that the jury needed to be certain Ward knew fentanyl was present in the heroin to be convicted of trafficking in fentanyl.
“He (Ward) didn’t know,” Spitzer insisted during his final arguments before the jury.
Hoovler obviously disagreed, and the judge concurred in his ruling which was reflected in the final jury instructions.
“The law is the law and you must follow the law,” Hoovler implored the jury. “Ward knew he was selling controlled substances.”
The issue of fentanyl came up again in a brief hearing before sentencing regarding the legal issues of merger as they pertain to multiple counts stemming from the same crime.
While Spitzer argued that of the four counts on which Ward was found guilty, the counts of selling heroin and alprazolam on July 7 and heroin and fentanyl on Aug. 9 should be merged into two incidents, not four, for the purpose of sentencing.
Hoovler opposed either merger and the judge agreed citing other case law.
In arguing for maximum, consecutive sentences, Hoovler cited Ward’s criminal record which includes convictions for drug trafficking involving cocaine and burglary. Ward was previously sentenced to two years in prison on the burglary conviction.
When Ward is released he will be subject to non-mandatory post-release control up to a period of three years at the discretion of the Adult Parole Authority.
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