Hillsboro man sentenced to prison for drug possession

A Hillsboro man was sentenced to a year and a half in prison recently after pleading guilty to a meth possession charge.

Ernie Ray Haskill, 44, was indicted by a Highland County grand jury and charged with aggravated possession of methamphetamine, a third-degree felony. The indictment alleged that on or about Aug. 24, 2024, Haskill “knowingly obtained, possessed or used” meth “in an amount that equals or exceeds bulk amount but less than five times bulk amount.”

According to court records, Haskill pleaded guilty to the charges April 10.

A bill of particulars alleges that a Department of Natural Resources officer responded to a vehicle with an alleged parking violation at Rocky Fork Lake. The vehicle operator was identified as Haskill. According to the bill of particulars, the officer allegedly “observed drug paraphernalia in the form of a meth pipe inside the vehicle,” then later located “a baggie containing a white crystal substance [in] Haskill’s front left pocket.”

The substance was submitted to Ohio BCI for testing and was confirmed to contain 4.6 grams of meth, the bill of particulars alleges.

Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss sentenced Haskill to serve 18 months in prison, with jail time credit of 60 days.

Haskill was admitted into the Correctional Reception Center in Orient April 23, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

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