Fentanyl trafficker gets 15-year prison term
May 19—LIMA — A Lima man who prosecutors say sold illegal drugs to a confidential informant on several occasions was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Christian Sewell, 33, was indicted by an Allen County grand jury in November on three counts of fentanyl trafficking, heroin trafficking, fentanyl possession, illegal drug manufacturing and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. The charges included three, one-year firearm specifications and a specification to forfeit $3,013.
In April, Sewell entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to possession of a fentanyl-related compound and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, each first-degree felonies, and a second-degree felony count of trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound.
The incidents allegedly occurred between Oct. 1, 2023, and Jan. 24, 2024. The fentanyl possession charge specifies Sewell had between 20 to 50 grams of fentanyl on Jan. 24.
Prior to sentencing, Sewell, with more than a dozen friends and family members in attendance, said he is "a better man than they (prosecutors) paint me to be. But everybody makes mistakes, and I made one. I take full accountability."
Defense attorney Anthony VanNoy said his college-educated client made a "decision to succumb to the drug culture. He knows this is not the path he should have taken, and it breaks his heart that he failed."
Judge Jeffrey Reed said in this case and others like it, he fails to understand the lure of the drug trade — which he said "puts poison into the community" — when viewed against the potential risks involved.
In addition to a prison sentence of 15 and 18 years, Sewell was ordered to forfeit a Glock 19 handgun and $3,013 in cash to the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force.
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