Appeals court to hear arguments in corrupt activities case
Judges from Ohio's Fourth District Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments Thursday in the appeals of two Highland County cases where the defendants were convicted of first-degree felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in an alleged drug trafficking enterprise.
In August 2011, Zachary Bondurant and Jeffrey Stevens were each found guilty by a jury in Highland County Common Pleas Court.
They each filed appeals in January 2012 and December 2011, respectively.
Oral arguments in the case will be held Thursday at 9 a.m. in Adams County Common Pleas Court.
The Fourth District is comprised of Adams, Athens, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton and Washington counties. The judges have a travel schedule where they rotate between counties to hear oral arguments.
Bondurant, of Bainbridge, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, as he was found guilty on 13 counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs, trafficking drugs in a school zone and possession of drugs.
Stevens, of Wilmington, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was found guilty on all 17 counts against him, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs and possession of drugs.
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During trial, Bondurant was represented by attorney Anthony Baker and Stevens was represented by attorney Matthew Faris.
The state was represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins. Collins is also representing the state on appeal.
In the appellate proceedings, Bondurant is represented by Eric Allen, and Stevens is represented by Bryan Scott Hicks.
Bondurant and Stevens were arrested in April 2011, along with seven others, during a drug bust after a grand jury in Highland County Common Pleas Court handed down a 62-count indictment. There were a total of 153 indictments involving real estate, vehicles, cash and other assets connected to the alleged activity. The indictments were the result of a months-long covert drug investigation by detectives with the Highland County Sheriff's Office, U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force, Greenfield Police Department and the Clinton County Sheriff's Office into cocaine and heroin trafficking in Highland County and the surrounding area.
In Bondurant's appeal, Allen alleged three assignments of error: the state failed to offer sufficient evidence to convict Bondurant of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, thus violating his right to due process; the conviction was against the manifest weight of the evidence that the alleged drug activity occurred within the vicinity of a school; and that he was denied effective assistance of counsel after trial counsel failed to move that the trial court for an order to sever his trial from his co-defendant.
In Stevens' appeal, Hicks alleges three assignments of error: The trial court improperly interpreted the law when it aggregated the values of of the contraband of all the defendants in meeting the $500 threshold for the engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities charge; "the trial court improperly convicted of a first degree felony"; and the sentence on engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity was improperly mandatory.