10/24/13 Drug charges dismissed, informant charged

  • By Nick Sabo
  • October 24, 2013
  • 488
                        
SUMMARY: Attorneys representing codefendants in alleged drug buy claim drug task force did not properly conduct searches Criminal charges brought against three defendants in a county-wide drug roundup have been dismissed and charges filed against a confidential informant who assisted in under cover drug investigations for the Holmes County Sheriff’s office. Drug trafficking charges were dismissed Oct. 17 - Oct. 18 in Holmes County Common Pleas Court against Hubert M. Cayton, III, 43, 7542 County Road 22, Lakeville, Charles D. Mullins, 44, 321 E. Millersburg St., Nashville, and Christopher Rowe, 26, 800 S. Washington Street, Lot 28, Millersburg. Holmes County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Knowling confirmed that the cases were dropped due to an investigation involving a confidential informant who was part of an ongoing drug investigation that ended with a round-up of multiple suspects in August. Knowling said he could not discuss the cases further without getting into evidentiary issues pertaining to charges being brought against the confidential informant. The informant has been charged in Holmes County Municipal Court with tampering with evidence. In light of the charges being dismissed, attorneys representing John K. Houser, 34, 2843 Mara Loma Circle, Wooster, and Jeffrey T. Perrine, 32, 71 N. Mad Anthony St., Millersburg, have asked for time to investigate whether the charges brought against their clients are valid. Houser and Perrine are codefendants in an alleged drug sale to a confidential informant who also was part of the investigation leading up to the August round-up. Attorney Jeff Kellogg, representing Perrine, said the fault in the cases of Cayton, Mullins and Rowe was in the hands of a Holmes County Sheriff’s deputy who performed searches of confidential informants before and after the alleged drug buys were conducted. In a motion for continuance, Kellogg writes that the searches “were defective”, allowing the informant “to bring non-controlled substances onto the scenes of purchases even after they were supposedly searched”. The deputy who searched the informant in the Cayton, Mullins and Rowe cases is the same who searched the informant in Perrine and Houser’s cases. Kellogg said the confidential informant in the case of Houser and Perrine is the not the same informant who faces tampering with evidence charges. Kellogg stated that there were at least four confidential informants operating at the time. Kellogg based his motion on the credibility of the sheriff’s drug task force, due to the faulty searches that resulted in the cases being dismissed. In his motion, Kellogg further writes that Perrine was working in West Virginia on the day of the alleged drug sale. Kellogg said that Perrine’s alibi will be boosted by his co-workers, who can testify to his whereabouts. Proving the allegations in Kellogg’s motion will be up to Attorney Mark Baserman. Kellogg requested to be removed from the case Oct. 24 after learning he has previously represented one of the witnesses in the case, which would limit his ability to cross examine the witness at trial. Houser is charged with trafficking in marijuana, two counts of aggravated trafficking and permitting drug abuse. Perrine is charged with trafficking in marijuana and aggravated trafficking. Houser is represented by attorney Todd Cheek. Cheek asked that the charges against his client be continued as well, pending the outcome of Kellogg’s motion. Houser and Perrine are scheduled for jury trial Dec. 17.


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