State upholds convictions in 2011 drug trafficking case
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Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins has announced a recent decision by the Fourth Appellate District Court of Ohio, upholding the convictions of two defendants from the Highland County Court of Common Pleas. Zachary Bondurant and Jeffrey Stevens were each convicted of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, among other drug-related charges, by a jury of their peers on Aug. 17, 2011. Prosecutor Collins, who represented the State of Ohio at both the trial court and appellate level, argued her position before the Appellate Court on April 26, 2012.
While not uncommon to have a defendant appeal their conviction, this case is significant in that the prosecution reached all levels of an organized illegal drug trafficking trade. Ohio Revised Code §2923.32(A)(1), engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, states: "No person employed by, or associated with, any enterprise shall conduct or participate in, directly or indirectly, the affairs of the enterprise through a pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt."
The main issue on appeal was regarding the statutory requirement that proceeds from the criminal activity exceeded $500. The defendants argued that the $500 threshold applied to each of them individually. At trial, evidence indicated that over $35,000 was recovered from the search of a co-defendant's property. The District Court held that due to the enterprise as a whole profiting more than $35,000, the $500 threshold had been met. Essentially, each defendant that participated in the enterprise was responsible for the actions of the entire enterprise.
Bondurant and Stevens were part of a 62-count indictment handed down by the April 2011 grand jury, along with seven other co-defendants. The charges in the indictment primarily stemmed from the trafficking of heroin and cocaine and resulted in the forfeiture of several items, including multiple vehicles, large sums of cash and real estate that were used in or derived from the illegal activities of the drug trafficking ring. The vehicles and real estate were sold at sheriff's sale in 2011, the proceeds of which go into the Law Enforcement Trust Fund.
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Both Bondurant and Stevens will be serving the sentences imposed by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss on Aug. 17, 2012: Bondurant to seven years of mandatory incarceration in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and 17 months for each of three counts of trafficking drugs in a school zone, for a total of 11 years and three months incarceration; and Stevens to nine years of mandatory incarceration in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and 11 months for each of five trafficking drugs, for a total of 13 years and seven months. Each defendant has 45 days in which to file further appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The recent decision of the Appellate Court emphasizes the accountability of everyone involved in organized crime under the engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity statue. It allows the State to prosecute even the smallest participant for the actions of the enterprise.
Prosecutor Collins would like to thank her staff at the Prosecutor's Office, the Highland County Sheriff's Department, US 23 Task Force, Clinton County Sheriff's Department and Trotwood Police Department for their concerted effort in this case.
While not uncommon to have a defendant appeal their conviction, this case is significant in that the prosecution reached all levels of an organized illegal drug trafficking trade. Ohio Revised Code §2923.32(A)(1), engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, states: "No person employed by, or associated with, any enterprise shall conduct or participate in, directly or indirectly, the affairs of the enterprise through a pattern of corrupt activity or the collection of an unlawful debt."
The main issue on appeal was regarding the statutory requirement that proceeds from the criminal activity exceeded $500. The defendants argued that the $500 threshold applied to each of them individually. At trial, evidence indicated that over $35,000 was recovered from the search of a co-defendant's property. The District Court held that due to the enterprise as a whole profiting more than $35,000, the $500 threshold had been met. Essentially, each defendant that participated in the enterprise was responsible for the actions of the entire enterprise.
Bondurant and Stevens were part of a 62-count indictment handed down by the April 2011 grand jury, along with seven other co-defendants. The charges in the indictment primarily stemmed from the trafficking of heroin and cocaine and resulted in the forfeiture of several items, including multiple vehicles, large sums of cash and real estate that were used in or derived from the illegal activities of the drug trafficking ring. The vehicles and real estate were sold at sheriff's sale in 2011, the proceeds of which go into the Law Enforcement Trust Fund.
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Both Bondurant and Stevens will be serving the sentences imposed by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss on Aug. 17, 2012: Bondurant to seven years of mandatory incarceration in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and 17 months for each of three counts of trafficking drugs in a school zone, for a total of 11 years and three months incarceration; and Stevens to nine years of mandatory incarceration in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, and 11 months for each of five trafficking drugs, for a total of 13 years and seven months. Each defendant has 45 days in which to file further appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The recent decision of the Appellate Court emphasizes the accountability of everyone involved in organized crime under the engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity statue. It allows the State to prosecute even the smallest participant for the actions of the enterprise.
Prosecutor Collins would like to thank her staff at the Prosecutor's Office, the Highland County Sheriff's Department, US 23 Task Force, Clinton County Sheriff's Department and Trotwood Police Department for their concerted effort in this case.