Mount Orab man sentenced to 10 years in prison for meth trafficking
James Odum. (Brown County Sheriff’s Office photo)
A Mount Orab man was sentenced this week to at least a decade in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a large-scale drug trafficking operation in Brown County.
As previously reported by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, seven individuals were indicted in March 2023 after a seven-month-long investigation into a drug trafficking organization allegedly responsible for bringing pounds of methamphetamine from Dayton to the Brown County area. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Brown County Drug & Major Crimes Task Force, Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Mount Orab Police Department, Ripley Police Department, Dayton DEA and the Dayton Police Department.
James Odum, 59, was indicted on 14 counts, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; trafficking in drugs with a major drug offender specification, a first-degree felony; three counts of trafficking in drugs, one first-degree and two second-degree felonies; six counts of possession of drugs, two first-degree, two second-degree, one fourth-degree and one fifth-degree felony; two counts of having weapons while under disability, third-degree felonies; and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony.
According to court records, Odum pleaded guilty April 22 to two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs, both second-degree felonies; and one count of aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony. The remaining 11 charges were dismissed.
For the trafficking counts, it was alleged that on or about Dec. 1, 2022 and on or about Jan. 5, 2023, Odum “did knowingly prepare for shipment, ship, transport, deliver, prepare for distribution or distribute” methamphetamine while knowing or having “reasonable cause to believe” the drugs were “intended for sale or resale by the offender or another person.” The weight of the meth in each charge equaled or exceeded five times bulk amount but was less than 50 times bulk amount, the indictment alleged.
It was also alleged that on or about Sept. 10, 2022, Odum “did knowingly obtain, possess or use” meth in an amount equal to or exceeding bulk amount but less than five times bulk amount.
According to court records, Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Gusweiler sentenced Odum to 24 months on the possession charge, consecutive to a mandatory four years on each trafficking charge. All sentences are to run consecutively, for a total minimum of 10 years in prison. Under the Reagan Tokes Law, Odum could serve up to 12 years. He had 409 days of jail time credit.
Odum is the sixth of the seven individuals accused in the drug trafficking operation to be sentenced for aggravated trafficking in drugs. Donald Sherman and Richard Sherman, both of Georgetown, were each sentenced to a minimum of two years (maximum of three); Jessica Jones and Rebecca Tice, both of Mount Orab, were each sentenced to a minimum of four years (maximum of six); and Jessie Hull of Felicity was sentenced to at least 11 years (maximum 16.5).
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