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A member of a drug-trafficking organization in the Youngstown-Warren area received a three-year probation after pleading guilty to a drug conspiracy charge.
Aubrey Adams, 39, of Warren, pleaded guilty to the charge in a hearing Nov. 5, 2021, before U.S. Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the Northern Ohio District Court.
On Friday, Boyko via video hookup sentenced Adams to credit for more than 10 months of time served and gave him three years of supervised release. Three counts of use of a communication facility in the furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime were dismissed as part of the plea deal with Adams, the federal court record shows.
Adams also was assessed a special court cost of $100. Records show Adams has been housed in the Mahoning County jail since July 8, 2021, while he has waited for an outcome in his case.
Adams was part of a multicount federal indictment in September 2020 charging 11 people with a drug-trafficking conspiracy in the Mahoning Valley.
The reputed ringleader of the gang, Vincent L. Richardson Jr., 29, of Warren, earlier this month pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogues and heroin; 21 counts of using a communication facility in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime; and various charges dealing with distribution and possession of the drugs.
Boyko ordered Richardson to undergo a background investigation conducted by his probation officers and scheduled sentencing for Aug. 23 in his federal courtroom. The plea headed off a trial for Richardson that was scheduled to begin Monday in Boyko's court.
According to a U.S. attorney news release on Sept. 10, 2020, one of the drug deals involved in this conspiracy case led to a fatal overdose. According to court documents, the 11 people -- including Richardson and Adams -- were part of a drug-trafficking organization in the Youngstown-Warren area from March 2019 to February 2020.
The investigation preceding the indictments was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force, Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office and its Trumbull Action Group and the Warren and Youngstown police departments. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office also assisted.
gvogrin@tribtoday.com