Logan County Common Pleas Judge Kevin P. Braig sentenced a 47-year-old city resident Monday to a maximum term of four years in prison for the defendant’s convictions on four counts of trafficking cocaine, all felonies of the fifth-degree.
The court found that Robert Price Jr.’s numerous sales of cocaine to a confidential informant coupled with the identification of light fixture where the defendant hid cocaine and other factors demonstrated the defendant’s conduct, which violated section Ohio Revised Code for offenses committed for hire or as part of organized crime.
The Court also noted that Chapter 177 of the Ohio Revised Code, “Investigation and Prosecution of Organized Criminal Activity,” defines “organized criminal activity” as “any violation, combination of violations, or conspiracy to commit one or more violations of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code.”
In addition, the court found the defendant had a prior history of criminal conduct, has failed to respond favorably to past sanctions, and other factors indicated the defendant likely to be more likely to engage in crime in the future than to not do so.
Finally, the court found that a prison sentence was necessary to adequately punish the defendant and to protect the public, and that a non-prison sentence would demean the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct.