Canton residents among 11 charged with dealing fentanyl, cocaine in central Ohio

Jordan Laird, The Repository
·2 min read
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Two Canton residents are among 11 suspects charged by federal prosecutors with distributing bulk amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and crack cocaine in the Columbus area.

Law enforcement arrested the eight men and three women last week  while executing 14 search warrants at various locations throughout central Ohio, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio in Columbus announced.

All 11 suspects have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and cocaine base — offenses punishable by ten years to life in prison, prosecutors announced.

The drug operation allegedly distributed 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine mixture or substance and 280 grams or more of crack cocaine, court records state.

In addition, authorities have seized more than $1.5 million in cash, 44 firearms, seven vehicles and a motorcycle.

In a federal grand jury indictment, federal prosecutors allege that some of the dealings over the past two years took place at two drug houses operated in the 500 blocks of South Harris and South Burgess avenues within 1,000 feet of Burroughs Elementary School in Columbus' Hilltop neighborhood.

The defendants are also accused of laundering their drug proceeds by soliciting others with trade cash and/or drugs to deposit checks and money orders in their bank accounts and by creating limited liability companies to deposit the money, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The defendants include:

  • Cordell Washington, 35, of the Northeast Side

  • Patrick Saultz, 44, of Italian Village

  • David Price, 53, of Worthington Woods

  • Allison E. Smith, 27, of Hilltop

  • Tavaryyuan Johnson, 22, of Hilltop

  • Alexis Lewis, 30, of Italian Village

  • Dustin Speakman, 32, of Hilltop

  • Danny Mullins, 53, of Hilltop

  • Tyler Bourdo, 28, of Hilliard

  • Michael Fowler, 45, of Canton

  • Carmela Brooks, 48, of Canton

The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, according to the U.S. Attorney's office  . OCDETF works to identify, disrupt, and dismantle "the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach."

“We’ve reached this milestone in this ongoing two-year investigation through meticulous and determined work by federal, local and state law enforcement agencies working together,” Kenneth L. Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said in a prepared statement.

“In this case, it appears the perpetrators of this offense had no regard for the children in the community as they allegedly dealt drugs within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.”

Dispatch reporter Cole Behrens contributed to this report.

Jordan Laird is a criminal justice reporter at the Columbus Dispatch. You can reach her at jlaird@dispatch.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @LairdWrites.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Two Canton residents arrested by Columbus police in drug ring bust