Toledo man sentenced in Highland County drug case
A Toledo man originally indicted on first-degree felony charges last year as part of a Highland County Task Force investigation was sentenced recently to community control after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge.
Travis Zuber, 30, was initially charged in October with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; trafficking in hashish in the vicinity of a school zone, a first-degree felony; possession of hashish, a second-degree felony; and a forfeiture specification. The charges were originally secret, as he was one of seven individuals named a 32-count indictment.
According to court records, Zuber pleaded guilty Jan. 8 to an amended charge of possession of hashish, a third-degree felony, and the forfeiture specification. The first-degree felony charges were dismissed.
It is alleged that on or about May 19, 2022, Zuber “did knowingly obtain, possess or use” hashish in liquid form in an amount equal to or exceeding 50 grams but less than 200 grams, according to court records.
During a sentencing hearing Feb. 14, Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss engaged in a brief back and forth with the defendant.
“At a desperate time in my life, I made a desperate decision, one that I regret immensely and sincerely, and one that I have learned from and will continue to learn from,” Zuber said prior to sentencing.
In response, Coss asked, “How did a guy from Toledo, with all family members in the Toledo area and no apparent ties to Highland County, end up in Highland County participating in a criminal enterprise?”
Zuber said that he “knew someone in Toledo” who “had an acquaintance” in the Highland County area, who “offered me an opportunity to make quick, easy money, one that I foolishly accepted.”
Coss asked, “How many times did you make a trip down here?”
“A dozen?” Zuber said. “I don’t have an exact count. It was throughout the course of six months or so.”
Coss told him, “It’s clear to me that you’re a drug dealer. You did it for the money.
“That’s the very definition of a drug dealer,” the judge said. “Not only that, but you came clear from Toledo down here to Highland County to bring drugs into our community and scatter them out to people in the community. I think that’s abominable. You are a first offender, but that doesn’t diminish the seriousness of your crime.”
Coss added that he feels Zuber “is getting a real break here.”
Coss said he would “defer” to the recommendation from counsel, but “due to the seriousness” of the offense, he imposed five years of community control. He also ordered Zuber to serve nine days in the Highland County Jail in May.
Zuber was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, and $20,393 was also ordered to be forfeited. That money is to be distributed equally among the Highland County Task Force, Highland County Prosecutor’s Office, Highland County Sheriff’s Office, Greenfield Police Department and Hillsboro Police Department, according to Highland County Assistant Prosecutor Adam King.
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