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Drug Dealer Gets 32 Years
June 2, 2011
By ADAM FERRISE Tribune Chronicle - Reporter (aferrise@tribtoday.com) ,
Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com
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WARREN - A Wallace Street S.E. man who transported drugs from Detroit to
Warren for the last 15 years was sentenced Wednesday to 32 years in prison.
Frederick D. Johnson, 40, also was labeled as a major drug offender by
Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Peter J. Kontos.
Johnson was arrested after leading law enforcement officers through a
high-speed chase through the city on Jan. 15, 2010. Police said he had more
than 400 grams of heroin and 4.5 ounces of cocaine with him.
Brandi Lynn Watson, 27, also of Wallace Street S.E., was convicted in the
same two-week trial of possessing more than 100 grams of cocaine and more
than 250 grams of heroin, firearm specifications and tampering with
evidence. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
An eight-woman, four-man jury convicted Johnson in April of the felony
charges of possessing more than 100 grams of cocaine, possessing more than
250 grams of heroin, possessing a gun, illegally possessing that gun as a
felon, tampering with evidence and failing to comply with the order of a
police officer.
The major drug offender conviction added 10 years to his sentence and banned
him from driving for life.
Johnson faced a 44-year maximum sentence.
He already was on parole after a 12 1/2-month stay in federal prison imposed
after he was convicted of possession with the intent to distribute drugs in
1996, assistant county prosecutor Christopher Becker said.
"Part of the purpose and principal of sentencing is to protect citizens and
to punish the offender," Kontos said. "It's also to rehabilitate. But I
don't think you learned your lesson from the last charge. You continued
doing the same things - bringing drugs from another state into our area."
Johnson bought the drugs in Detroit, his former hometown, and sold them in
Warren. Becker said testimony during the trial revealed it wasn't his only
trip to Detroit to bring back drugs.
Johnson and his former girlfriend were being investigated by the Trumbull
Ashtabula Group law enforcement task force, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco
and Firearms, Warren police and U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement when
the chase ensued.
Becker said it was one of the longest sentences he's seen imposed for drug
trafficking in Trumbull County.
"I don't know if sentencing sends a message but this ensures that he will
likely die of natural causes in prison, where he deserves to," Becker said.
"I'm sure the drugs he brought into this area ruined or killed some lives."
Attorney Mark Lavelle, representing Johnson, requested that Kontos appoint
an attorney to represent Johnson for his appeals case. Lavelle had no
further comment.
During the trial, Becker told jurors that TAG agents were already
investigating Johnson and Watson before the high-speed chase broke the case
open. At one point on Porter Street N.E., the car driven by Johnson rammed
an undercover car driven by a TAG agent.
TAG agents had two places under surveillance and were following the car.
During the chase, a .40 caliber Glock pistol, nearly 400 grams of heroin and
4.5 ounces of cocaine were thrown out the car, police said.
Watson was arrested later that night in a garage on Atlantic Street and
Johnson turned himself into his parole officer in Liberty within a couple
days.
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