14 indicted in Muskingum County for alleged organized prison drug smuggling ring
After years of investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, 14 defendants were served indictments in connection with a drug ring allegedly operated out of the Ohio prison system.
The charges reflect a pattern of organized corrupt activity, in which prisoners from Muskingum County and elsewhere allegedly collaborated with their girlfriends and family members to smuggle drugs into Ohio prisons and launder the proceeds.
The defendants allegedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling “faces,” small squares of paper soaked in methamphetamine or suboxone, a street drug of abuse marketed as a treatment for opioid addiction.
Charged in the prison roundup include:
• Justin A. Alexander, 45, of Zanesville, currently serving a 25-year sentence
• Lisa A. Davis, 49, of Zanesville, Alexander’s sister
• Tondalea R. Hale, 54, of Zanesville, Alexander’s aunt
• Jessica A. Queen, 46, of Belpre, Alexander’s girlfriend
• Kashawn “Duda” Cox, 28, of Zanesville, currently serving a seven-year sentence
• Michelle J. Lang, 27, of Columbus, Cox’s girlfriend
• Emily P. Goodrich, 27, of Columbus, the mother of Cox’s child
• Ken D. Gatlin, II, 28, of Zanesville, currently serving a 16-year sentence
• Vanita L. McCrae, 42, of Zanesville, Gatlin’s sister
• Randall “Bub” Cremeans, 39, of Zanesville, currently serving a 30-year sentence
• Kyle “White Boy” Ross, 34, of Marion, recently released from prison on post-release control
• Jamaull D. Jones, Jr., 27, of Cleveland, currently serving a six-year sentence out of Cuyahoga County
• Heaven R. Gouldlock, 26, of Cleveland, Jones’s girlfriend
• Sasha M. Hill, 25, of Cleveland, Jones’s sister.
Investigators allegedly caught the inmates and their family members by discovering drug shipments, phone smuggling and an elaborate plot to publish and sell an actual novel-style book with its pages soaked with drugs.
Muskingum County Assistant Prosecutor John Litle says the office is taking the lead on prosecuting the situation.
“Prison isn’t a money-making experience, and the only way to make money in prison is through corrupt activity,” Litle said. “We may not have a prison in Muskingum County, but the money was laundered here, and most of the folks involved came from here, so we will be taking on the prosecution of this situation.”
Litle says he has advice for individuals asked to participate in money-making schemes with a prison inmate.
“Just don’t do it,” Litle said. “Inmates have money on their books for legitimate prison expenditures. If they need help, it’s fine to put money on their books. It is obvious that paying money to a person outside the prison for the benefit of a prisoner is a transaction for drugs or contraband. Do not let someone who has damaged their own life with their own bad decisions rope more people into the system.”
An indictment is merely a charge and is not evidence of guilt.
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