Trending
WARREN -- A Warren man under adult parole supervision for previous drug convictions was sent back to prison Wednesday for one year after he pleaded guilty to a nine-count indictment dealing with trafficking in cocaine and fentanyl- related compounds.
Darius Blackwell, 25, who was released this week from Lake Erie Correctional Institution, appeared before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay on charges dealing with a case investigated by the Trumbull County Sheriff's TAG drug task force. These involved a series of controlled drug buys involving Blackwell and a confidential informant from May through November 2020, police said.
Prosecutors said the cost of the drugs during the nine purchases varied from $60 to $100 and the amount involved was less than one gram of either crack cocaine or substances that contained mixtures of heroin and fentanyl.
In August 2021, Blackwell, formerly of First Street SW, was given a nine-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to a five-count indictment that included charges of possession of cocaine and fentanyl-related compound, two counts attempted illegal conveyance of drugs into a jail and attempted tampering with evidence.
In another drug-related case, two co-defendants pleaded guilty and were placed in the common pleas drug court program in a case involving theft from a 72-year-old man.
Donald C. Booth, 36, of Federal Street NW, and Maria A. Merola, 36, of Summit Street NW, both of Warren, appeared before McKay in separate plea hearings Wednesday. Booth pleaded guilty to charges of theft from a person in a protected class and possession of cocaine, while Merola pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from a person in a protected class.
Prosecutors said the case involved $336 in cash taken from an ATM with a credit card issued in the name of the 72-year-old man. Merola also was accused of using the credit cards to purchase items at stores.
Booth's drug charge stemmed from a May 2019 traffic stop in which less than one gram of cocaine was found by Warren police in the vehicle, prosecutors said.
Both now must be drug free and follow the rules of the drug court program -- led by Judge Andrew D. Logan -- for one year. If they comply with these terms, their convictions will be expunged by the court.