Nearly two years after indictment, Lima man pleads to drug charges

Jan. 3—LIMA — A Lima man facing 13 drug-related felony offenses will be sentenced in February after agreeing to a negotiated plea offer from prosecutors.

Terry Watkins-Thomas, 35, appeared before Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser on Tuesday and agreed to plead guilty to four counts — including a first-degree felony charge of the possession of cocaine — in exchange for the state's dismissal of the remaining nine charges.

Watkins-Thomas also pleaded guilty to trafficking in heroin, a fourth-degree felony; trafficking in heroin in the vicinity of a school, a felony of the third degree; and possession of heroin. The latter count includes specifications for the forfeiture of $669 along with multiple electronic devices.

Watkins-Thomas was indicted by a grand jury in April of 2021 on four counts of heroin trafficking, four counts of trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, and single counts of having weapons under disability, possession of a fentanyl-related compound and cocaine possession.

He posted a $75,000 surety bond on Nov. 2, 2021, according to court documents, and was required to complete drug testing, remain on house arrest and appear to court hearings.

That bond was revoked less than two weeks later after Watkins-Thomas tested positive for cocaine. He allegedly also had not charged his GPS monitor and could not be located. He was arrested on May 7.

Kohlrieser on Tuesday ordered a pre-sentence investigation for Watkins-Thomas and set a Feb. 17 sentencing date.