Former co-defendants testify in corrupt activities drug case
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
The prosecution and the defense have both rested in the second day of trial for two men charged in engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity regarding an alleged drug ring in Highland County.
Fourteen witnesses - some in handcuffs and striped prison uniforms - offered testimony Tuesday in Highland County Common Pleas Court in the trial of Zachary Bondurant and Jeffrey Stevens, who face the first-degree felony charge. The day concluded with the two defendants taking the stand and testifying that they did not sell drugs in Highland County during the times alleged by the state. Bondurant and Stevens each said that they did not know each other before they were co-defendants.
The state, represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, alleges that from October 2010 through March 2010, Bondurant and Stevens were part of a drug ring that trafficked heroin and cocaine that had been brought from the Dayton area into Highland County. The state alleges that Rodger Cassell was the leader of the drug enterprise, and he provided the drugs that Bondurant and Cassell allegedly trafficked.
The defense alleges that there is no direct evidence that Bondurant or Stevens were a part of a drug trafficking enterprise. Stevens is represented by attorney Matthew Faris, and Bondurant is represented by attorney Anthony Baker.
Cassell took the stand for the defense Tuesday and testified that he never sold drugs to Stevens or Bondurant. Cassell had been scheduled to stand trial with them, but on Friday he pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, among other drug-related charges. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Six other former co-defendants - Maudy Jackson, Megan Butcher, Richard Rickman, Melinda Steward, Joseph Cowman and Jamie Robinette - each testified regarding one or both of the defendants and their involvement in trafficking drugs. With the exception of Rickman, the aforementioned witnesses appeared in the custody of the Highland County Sheriff's Office, as they are serving prison time from convictions stemming from this investigation.
"They're all lying," Stevens said under cross-examination regarding the testimony from those former co-defendants.
Stevens is appearing in court in the custody of the Highland County Sheriff's Office.
Bondurant is out of jail on bond. During testimony from the state's witnesses Tuesday, Bondurant appeared to nod off to sleep while sitting at the defense table.
During the proceedings Monday, the jury was shown videos shot by a confidential informant (CI) who worked with the Highland County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force during the investigation. They heard testimony from that CI on Tuesday, who said he had spoke with Bondurant in February 2011 and that the defendant told him he had heroin available for purchase. When he arrived at Bondurant's apartment building, the old Elliot hotel, he testified Bondurant told him that to buy the heroin he would "have to holler at Joe (Cowman)." The video depicts the alleged drug transaction between Cowman and the CI.
A second CI testified that Stevens sold her drugs on two occasions in October 2010. Jurors heard audio of the alleged transaction, but the defense alleges that there is no positive identification that it is Stevens's voice that is heard on the recording.
Det. Sergeant Richard Warner of the HCSO testified that on March 3, 2011, he and Det. Sergeant Danny Croy of the HCSO made a traffic stop on a vehicle that was being driven by Melinda Steward.
"We had heard (Steward) had drugs and was on her way back from Dayton with a large amount of heroin coming into Wilmington or Greenfield," Warner said.
Warner said that Steward and the vehicle were stopped at an apartment complex in Greenfield, and that bags containing heroin were located in the car.
He also testified that the Clinton County Sheriff's Office had executed a search warrant on a storage unit in Wilmington that was rented by Cassell. Inside the unit was more than $35,000 in cash, and it was taken into evidence. Warner said that he ran the bills through a computer and found bills that had matching serial numbers for money used during the alleged drug buy between the CI, Joseph Cowman and Bondurant in February. Cassell later testified that money came from the sale of a car and winnings from gambling.
On cross-examination, Warner testified that there was no forensic evidence from the heroin bags or bills linking them to Bondurant or Stevens.
Melinda Steward testified that she had driven to Dayton on March 3 to "pick up drugs." When asked whose drugs they were, she said, "Rodger Cassell's." She said that she dumped some of the drugs in a trash can at a car wash in Dayton, and she drove with the rest to Greenfield.
Steward testified that Stevens is her ex-boyfriend and that she met him through Cassell. She also said that she is Bondurant's cousin.
When asked what she did when she returned to Greenfield, Steward testified that she put the drugs on the coffee table of her sister's apartment and went upstairs. She said later that she heard voices downstairs and identified one voice as Bondurant.
As Steward testified about her cousin, she began crying.
"Was Zach Bondurant one of the people you delivered drugs to at Rodger Cassell's request?" Collins asked Steward.
Steward said, "yes," and that she had taken "a couple ounces" to him.
Baker asked Steward on cross-examination if she knew what Bondurant did with the drugs.
"I guess it was for him to smoke," she said.
When Bondurant took the stand, he said that he had received drugs from his cousin, but it was for his own consumption, and that it was only in small amounts, and he never received two ounces.
Megan Butcher, Melinda Steward's sister, testified that Cassell is the father of her child. She said that she instructed Steward, at Cassell's direction, to go to Dayton on March 3 to pick up the drugs.
"What were the instructions?" Collins asked.
"To get the drugs out of Rodger Cassell's house before the police came and raided it," Butcher said.
Collins asked, "Did (Steward) bring the drugs to your home?" and Butcher said that Steward brought them to her apartment on Jefferson Street in Greenfield.
"Did Zack Bondurant come to your home that day?" Collins asked, and Butcher said that he did. "What did he come for?"
"I called and told him I had dope to get rid of," Butcher said.
As she testified about Bondurant, her cousin, Butcher began to cry.
Butcher testified that she had witnessed Cassell and Bondurant in the kitchen of her apartment with a set of scales. She said she did not see what was on the scales. She said they heard them discuss amounts and that, "Zack was trying to get two ounces."
Butcher said that in December 2010 she witnessed Bondurant give Cassell money.
On cross-examination, Baker asked Butcher when she first told detectives about the two ounces Cassell allegedly gave to Bondurant. Butcher said, "Two days ago, when detectives questioned me."
He asked if there was an exchange of money on March 3, and she said no.
"You just gave (Bondurant) heroin?" Baker asked, and Butcher said yes.
On redirect examination, Collins asked Butcher if she told detectives about the alleged two ounces during an interview after she was indicted in April, and Butcher said yes.
During the cross-examination of Jackson, Steward, Butcher, Rickman, Cowman and Robinette, Faris and Baker questioned each former defendant on the charges on which they were indicted. They were each asked if their plea agreements were contingent upon their testimony, and each answered yes. Baker asked if they had been threatened, coached or promised anything regarding their testimony. The witnesses stated they were told to tell the truth. They told the jury that they could face more prison time if they didn't testify or didn't tell the truth.
Richard Rickman testified that when he sold drugs to a CI in October 2010, he had received those drugs from Stevens. When questioned by Faris, Rickman said that he wasn't sure of the dates he received the drugs from Stevens, and that he had also purchased drugs from other individuals.
"You have no idea ... if (the heroin he purchased from Stevens) was the heroin you sold to (the CI)?" Faris asked, and Rickman said yes.
Maudy Jackson testified that she had sold drugs to a CI, and that she got the drugs from Cassell, and that she had purchased drugs from Stevens.
Joseph Cowman testified that he had bought heroin from Bondurant, and he sold that heroin to a CI.
Jamie Robinette, who lived with Cowman during the time of the investigation, testified that he had seen Cowman use heroin and had seen him sell heroin to an individual who was later identified as a CI.
When asked if he knew Stevens, Robinette said that he did not, except that "in county (jail) he said he was going to beat me up for this."
Stevens later testified that he did not know Robinette.
Jurors also heard testimony from Det. Sergeant Doug Estes from the Clinton County Sheriff's Office regarding the seizing of the items in Cassell's storage unit in Wilmington, including vehicles and the aforementioned $35,000.
Following the testimony from Estes, the state rested its case, and the defense for both defendants began calling witnesses.
Jurors heard from Greg Stevens - the brother of Jeffrey Stevens - who testified that the defendant was incarcerated on separate drug charges until August 2010, and that the Stevens family knew the Cassell family from church and from growing up in the Wilmington area. He said that he did not see his brother do drugs or deal drugs following his release from prison.
Jeffrey Stevens took the stand in his own defense and said that he was good friends with Cassell, and they saw each other around once a week from August 2010 to March 2011.
"Did you ever receive drugs from Mr. Cassell?" Faris asked.
"No, sir," Stevens said.
Stevens said that Cassell never gave him instructions to give or sell drugs to anyone else.
Stevens denied selling or giving drugs to Butcher, Steward, Rickman, Bondurant or the CIs.
On cross-examination, Collins asked Stevens if he expected the jury to believe that the other witnesses were lying and that he was telling the truth.
"So you're sitting in this chair asking this jury to believe that you're telling the truth now and that all (of the former co-defendnats) are liars?" Collins asked.
"They're all lying," Stevens said.
Cassell was called to testify on behalf of the defense of both Stevens and Bondurant. Cassell said that he had been friends with Stevens for nearly 17 years, and that he had never given him or sold him drugs.
Cassell testified that he had met Bondurant once, briefly, during a family reunion when he was dating Butcher, and that he had never sold him drugs.
When Bondurant took the stand in his own defense, he chewed gum throughout his testimony and told the jury that he started using drugs at the age of 9. He said that he was a user of cocaine, heroin and marijuana, but that he wasn't a drug dealer. He denied selling drugs to Cowman or to the CI.
He said that he never bought drugs from Cassell, and that he only met him on one occasion.
"We met at a family reunion, like he said, but I didn't talk to him because I didn't agree with my cousin being with a black man," Bondurant said.
The defense completed its case with Bondurant's testimony.
Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss said that the case had gone very fast, and that the jury had heard testimony from approximately 20 witnesses in a relatively short period of time. He dismissed the jurors for the day at approximately 2:30 p.m. They are to report back Wednesday at 8:20 a.m., when they will hear jury instructions and closing arguments. Closing arguments could take as long as one hour for the state and half an hour for each defense attorney. Coss said he anticipated deliberations to begin around 11 a.m.
Bondurant and Stevens were arrested in April, 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.
Bondurant, of Bainbridge, is charged with 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, is charged with 17 counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs and possession of drugs.
The prosecution and the defense have both rested in the second day of trial for two men charged in engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity regarding an alleged drug ring in Highland County.
Fourteen witnesses - some in handcuffs and striped prison uniforms - offered testimony Tuesday in Highland County Common Pleas Court in the trial of Zachary Bondurant and Jeffrey Stevens, who face the first-degree felony charge. The day concluded with the two defendants taking the stand and testifying that they did not sell drugs in Highland County during the times alleged by the state. Bondurant and Stevens each said that they did not know each other before they were co-defendants.
The state, represented by Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, alleges that from October 2010 through March 2010, Bondurant and Stevens were part of a drug ring that trafficked heroin and cocaine that had been brought from the Dayton area into Highland County. The state alleges that Rodger Cassell was the leader of the drug enterprise, and he provided the drugs that Bondurant and Cassell allegedly trafficked.
The defense alleges that there is no direct evidence that Bondurant or Stevens were a part of a drug trafficking enterprise. Stevens is represented by attorney Matthew Faris, and Bondurant is represented by attorney Anthony Baker.
Cassell took the stand for the defense Tuesday and testified that he never sold drugs to Stevens or Bondurant. Cassell had been scheduled to stand trial with them, but on Friday he pleaded guilty to engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, among other drug-related charges. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Six other former co-defendants - Maudy Jackson, Megan Butcher, Richard Rickman, Melinda Steward, Joseph Cowman and Jamie Robinette - each testified regarding one or both of the defendants and their involvement in trafficking drugs. With the exception of Rickman, the aforementioned witnesses appeared in the custody of the Highland County Sheriff's Office, as they are serving prison time from convictions stemming from this investigation.
"They all lying," Stevens said under cross-examination regarding the testimony from those former co-defendants.
Stevens is appearing in court in the custody of the Highland County Sheriff's Office.
Bondurant is out of jail on bond. During testimony from the state's witnesses Tuesday, Bondurant appeared to nod off to sleep while sitting at the defense table.
During the proceedings Monday, the jury was shown videos shot by a confidential informant (CI) who worked with the Highland County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force during the investigation. They heard testimony from that CI on Tuesday, who said he had spoke with Bondurant in February 2011 and that the defendant told him he had heroin available for purchase. When he arrived at Bondurant's apartment building, the old Elliot hotel, he testified Bondurant told him that to buy the heroin he would "have to holler at Joe (Cowman)." The video depicts the alleged drug transaction between Cowman and the CI.
A second CI testified that Stevens sold her drugs on two occasions in October 2010. Jurors heard audio of the alleged transaction, but the defense alleges that there is no positive identification that it is Stevens's voice that is heard on the recording.
Det. Sergeant Richard Warner of the HCSO testified that on March 3, 2011, he and Det. Sergeant Danny Croy of the HCSO made a traffic stop on a vehicle that was being driven by Melinda Steward.
"We had heard (Steward) had drugs and was on her way back from Dayton with a large amount of heroin coming into Wilmington or Greenfield," Warner said.
Warner said that Steward and the vehicle were stopped at an apartment complex in Greenfield, and that bags containing heroin were located in the car.
He also testified that the Clinton County Sheriff's Office had executed a search warrant on a storage unit in Wilmington that was rented by Cassell. Inside the unit was more than $35,000 in cash, and it was taken into evidence. Warner said that he ran the bills through a computer and found bills that had matching serial numbers for money used during the alleged drug buy between the CI, Joseph Cowman and Bondurant in February. Cassell later testified that money came from the sale of a car and winnings from gambling.
On cross-examination, Warner testified that there was no forensic evidence from the heroin bags or bills linking them to Bondurant or Stevens.
Melinda Steward testified that she had driven to Dayton on March 3 to "pick up drugs." When asked whose drugs they were, she said, "Rodger Cassell's." She said that she dumped some of the drugs in a trash can at a car wash in Dayton, and she drove with the rest to Greenfield.
Steward testified that Stevens is her ex-boyfriend and that she met him through Cassell. She also said that she is Bondurant's cousin.
When asked what she did when she returned to Greenfield, Steward testified that she put the drugs on the coffee table of her sister's apartment and went upstairs. She said later that she heard voices downstairs and identified one voice as Bondurant.
As Steward testified about her cousin, she began crying.
"Was Zack Bondurant one of the people you delivered drugs to at Rodger Cassell's request?" Collins asked Steward.
Steward said, "yes," and that she had taken "a couple ounces" to him.
Baker asked Steward on cross-examination if she knew what Bondurant did with the drugs.
"I guess it was for him to smoke," she said.
When Bondurant took the stand, he said that he had received drugs from his cousin, but it was for his own consumption, and that it was only in small amounts, and he never received two ounces.
Megan Butcher, Melinda Steward's sister, testified that Cassell is the father of her child. She said that she instructed Steward, at Cassell's direction, to go to Dayton on March 3 to pick up the drugs.
"What were the instructions?" Collins asked.
"To get the drugs out of Rodger Cassell's house before the police came and raided it," Butcher said.
Collins asked, "Did (Steward) bring the drugs to your home?" and Butcher said that Steward brought them to her apartment on Jefferson Street in Greenfield.
"Did Zack Bondurant come to your home that day?" Collins asked, and Butcher said that he did. "What did he come for?"
"I called and told him I had dope to get rid of," Butcher said.
As she testified about Bondurant, her cousin, Butcher began to cry.
Butcher testified that she had witnessed Cassell and Bondurant in the kitchen of her apartment with a set of scales. She said she did not see what was on the scales. She said they heard them discuss amounts and that, "Zack was trying to get two ounces."
Butcher said that in December 2010 she witnessed Bondurant give Cassell money.
On cross-examination, Baker asked Butcher when she first told detectives about the two ounces Cassell allegedly gave to Bondurant. Butcher said, "Two days ago, wh en detectives questioned me."
He asked if there was an exchange of money on March 3, and she said no.
"You just gave (Bondurant) heroin?" Baker asked, and Butcher said yes.
On redirect examination, Collins asked Butcher if she told detectives about the alleged two ounces during an interview after she was indicted in April, and Butcher said yes.
During the cross-examination of Jackson, Steward, Butcher, Rickman, Cowman and Robinette, Faris and Baker questioned each former defendant on the charges on which they were indicted. They were each asked if their plea agreements were contingent upon their testimony, and each answered yes. Baker asked if they had been threatened, coached or promised anything regarding their testimony. The witnesses stated they were told to tell the truth. They told the jury that they could face more prison time if they didn't testify or didn't tell the truth.
Richard Rickman testified that when he sold drugs to a CI in October 2010, he had received those drugs from Stevens. When questioned by Faris, Rickman said that he wasn't sure of the dates he received the drugs from Stevens, and that he had also purchased drugs from other individuals.
"You have no idea ... if (the heroin he purchased from Stevens) was the heroin you sold to (the CI)?" Faris asked, and Rickman said yes.
Maudy Jackson testified that she had sold drugs to a CI, and that she got the drugs from Cassell, and that she had purchased drugs from Stevens.
Joseph Cowman testified that he had bought heroin from Bondurant, and he sold that heroin to a CI.
Jamie Robinette, who lived with Cowman during the time of the investigation, testified that he had seen Cowman use heroin and had seen him sell heroin to an individual who was later identified as a CI.
When asked if he knew Stevens, Robinette said that he did not, except that "in county (jail) he said he was going to beat me up for this."
Stevens later testified that he did not know Robinette.
Jurors also heard testimony from Det. Sergeant Doug Estes from the Clinton County Sheriff's Office regarding the seizing of the items in Cassell's storage unit in Wilmington, including vehicles and the aforementioned $35,000.
Following the testimony from Estes, the state rested its case, and the defense for both defendants began calling witnesses.
Jurors heard from Greg Stevens - the brother of Jeffrey Stevens - who testified that the defendant was incarcerated on separate drug charges until August 2010, and that the Stevens family knew the Cassell family from church and from growing up in the Wilmington area. He said that he did not see his brother do drugs or deal drugs following his release from prison.
Jeffrey Stevens took the stand in his own defense and said that he was good friends with Cassell, and they saw each other around once a week from August 2010 to March 2011.
"Did you ever receive drugs from Mr. Cassell?" Faris asked.
"No, sir," Stevens said.
Stevens said that Cassell never gave him instructions to give or sell drugs to anyone else.
Stevens denied selling or giving drugs to Butcher, Steward, Rickman, Bondurant or the CIs.
On cross-examination, Collins asked Stevens if he expected the jury to believe that the other witnesses were lying and that he was telling the truth.
"So you're sitting in this chair asking this jury to believe that you're telling the truth now and that all (of the former co-defendnats) are liars?" Collins asked.
"They all lying," Stevens said.
Cassell was called to testify on behalf of the defense of both Stevens and Bondurant. Cassell said that he had been friends with Stevens for nearly 17 years, and that he had never given him or sold him drugs.
Cassell testified that he had met Bondurant once, briefly, during a family reunion when he was dating Butcher, and that he had never sold him drugs.
When Bondurant took the stand in his own defense, he chewed gum throughout his testimony and told the jury that he started using drugs at the age of 9. He said that he was a user of cocaine, heroin and marijuana, but that he wasn't a drug dealer. He denied selling drugs to Cowman or to the CI.
He said that he never bought drugs from Cassell, and that he only met him on one occasion.
"We met at a family reunion, like he said, but I didn't talk to him because I didn't agree with my cousin being with a black man," Bondurant said.
The defense completed its case with Bondurant's testimony.
Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss said that the case had gone very fast, and that the jury had heard testimony from approximately 20 witnesses in a relatively short period of time. He dismissed the jurors for the day at approximately 2:30 p.m. They are to report back Wednesday at 8:20 a.m., when they will hear jury instructions and closing arguments. Closing arguments could take as long as one hour for the state and half an hour for each defense attorney. Coss said he anticipated deliberations to begin around 11 a.m.
Bondurant and Stevens were arrested in April, 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.
Bondurant, of Bainbridge, is charged with 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, is charged with 17 counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, trafficking in drugs and possession of drugs.