'An extremely dangerous situation': Crestline pair sentenced on drug trafficking charges
Two Crestline residents arrested in July 2021 after more than a half-pound of methamphetamine was found in their home have been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.
In Crawford County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, Gerald Cotsmire, 58, and Sherrie Pfleiderer, 58, both of 7199 Klahn Road, Crestline, each pleaded guilty to five charges — engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a first-degree felony; aggravated trafficking in drugs, a third-degree felony; having weapons while under disability, a third-degree felony; receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.
Common Pleas Court Judge Sean Leuthold sentenced each to an indefinite sentence of 11 to 16½ years in prison on the first count and 12 months in prison for each of the other four counts.
"Long story short, there was a significant amount of drug that were obtained," Leuthold said during Cotsmire's hearing. "Obviously, there was trafficking going on; the defendant has pleaded guilty to such. There were firearms involved. Overall, it was a situation in which there were a number of different laws that were being broken. But primarily, it's a situation where there was drugs, drug-dealing and firearms, and that's just never a good situation. Mr. Cotsmire seems like a pretty nice gentleman — seems like a reasonable gentleman — but it's my guess he got caught up in drug usage and kind of lost his way and got involved in an extremely dangerous situation in which thank goodness, no one ended up being seriously hurt.
"But there was methamphetamine involved, if I'm not mistaken, and that is a dangerous drug that basically destroys people's ability to think clearly, causes hallucinations, causes paranoia and oftentimes leads to tragedy. And it looks like we're fortunate that didn't happen here."
Cotsmire and Pfleiderer were arrested on July 7, 2021, after law enforcement officers searching their home seized a large amount of meth, estimated to weigh 253.11 grams — about 0.55 pound — with a street value between $15,000 and $20,000; drug paraphernalia; firearms; and $6,339 currency, according to previous reports from the Crawford County Sheriff's Office. A Polaris utility vehicle that had been reported stolen in Kentucky also was found.
At the time, Sheriff Scott Kent said it was the largest meth seizure he recalled his office having.
Defendants must forfeit list of items
As part of a plea agreement, two additional charges were dropped and the aggravated trafficking charge, originally a first-degree felony, was reduced to a third-degree felony.
Leuthold sentenced each to 11 years on the first-degree felony charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, but explained that under what's known as the Reagan Tokes Law, the prison will have the discretion to add up to 50% additional time for bad behavior, so that sentence is effectively 11 to 16½ years.
"Now, that doesn't mean you're going to get that, OK? In fact, probably most of the time, the person doesn't," Leuthold said during Cotsmire's sentencing. The term also could be reduced by 5% to 15% for exceptional behavior, he said.
In addition, the state has agreed it will not object to judicial release after 7½ years, the judge said.
"But you understand, I'm the one who makes that decision, right?" Leuthold asked Cotsmire. "The state's going to make the recommendation; I'll make the decision, you understand that?"
The state could decide against recommending judicial release if the prisoner has a number of significant disciplinary infractions, he said.
Leuthold issued no fines in either case, but the defendants were ordered to forfeit all drug-related property, including paraphernalia, cellphones and electronic devices; 14 gold-colored bars; a 2008 red Ford F-150 pickup; firearms and ammunition; and $6,339 cash. Each defendant was credited for time served in jail, more than 650 days.
ggoble@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Cotsmire and Pfleiderer sentenced on drug trafficking charges
