A Hillsboro man has been sentenced to community control after pleading guilty to a meth trafficking charge.

During the first round of indictments in the Operation Ice Breaker large-scale drug investigation, a Highland County grand jury handed down an indictment Feb. 1 against Jared Hill, 27. Hill was charged with aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine, a fourth-degree felony, and aggravated possession of methamphetamine, a fifth-degree felony.

According to court records, Hill pleaded guilty to the trafficking charge May 10, with the possession charge dropped. A bill of particulars filed in the case alleged that in June 2021, Hill sold .113 grams of methamphetamine at a Hillsboro residence.

Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Hill to three years of community control on May 10.

As previously reported, a Highland County grand jury handed down 25 indictments, all of which were sealed, in connection with Operation Ice Breaker on Feb. 1. Another 13 indictments were handed down in the March 1 grand jury session, followed by 15 indictments in the April 5 session and 10 in the May 5 session.

Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins said in February that Operation Ice Breaker was primarily concentrated in Hillsboro, with $60,000 in illegal narcotics purchased in the city by the task force.

This is the first major drug bust in the Highland County area since 2020. As previously reported, 28 individuals were charged in June 2020 in connection with a large-scale drug investigation, primarily in Greenfield. All but one of those cases have been closed as of May 26, 2022.