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WARREN -- A Youngstown man pleaded guilty this week in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on a drug charge connected to him being found with 29.8 grams of methamphetamine.
The substance was found during a police investigation of a July 9, 2021, traffic crash on Colonial Drive in Liberty.
Keith A. Walker, 31, of Detroit Avenue, was sentenced to 30 months in prison by Judge W. Wyatt McKay. After hearing a heartfelt apology from the defendant, McKay said he was giving Walker time to spend the holidays with his family before reporting to prison on Dec. 28.
"I apologize … and and I have learned that I have to become a better person and choose a better path," Walker said, adding that he has to show his 13-year-old son a better example.
Walker pleaded guilty to a third-degree charge of aggravated possession of drugs.
In other drug-related cases:
• Eric Arnold, 38, of Old Furnace Road, Youngstown, pleaded guilty to possession of LSD and attempted tampering with evidence and will be sentenced after his background report is completed by probation officers. Arnold was stopped April 4, 2021, on U.S. Route 422 in Southington by Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers. After failing a field sobriety test, Arnold was put in the back of the cruiser and troopers saw him remove something from his person and throw it on the floor of the back seat. The patrol laboratory later identified it as 10 hits of LSD, prosecutors said.
• Larry Burgess Jr., 33, of Palmer Avenue, Youngstown, pleaded guilty before Judge Ronald J. Rice of trafficking in cocaine and aggravated trafficking in drugs. Burgess, who could face between six and 18 months in prison, will be sentenced Jan. 5 after he undergoes a background investigation. His arrest stemmed from a investigation that began in October 2020 by the Trumbull County Sheriff's TAG anti-drug task force.
• Antonio Tucker, 31, of Parkman Road NW, Warren, pleaded guilty to three fifth-degree drug-related charges and will be sentenced by McKay after he undergoes a background investigation conducted by county probation officers. Tucker pleaded guilty to attempted trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound. The charges stem from a Dec. 9, 2021, traffic stop in Brookfield where various amounts of drugs were found in plastic bags. In the plea deal, Tucker also agreed to forfeit $385 in cash and three cellphones that were found during the police search at the traffic stop.
• Bryan T. Kaster, 22, of Warner Hollow Road, Windsor, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated possession of drugs. Kaster, who faces from six to 12 months in prison, will be sentenced by McKay after a background investigation. Prosecutors say Kaster was found with about one gram of methamphetamine during a traffic stop Jan. 15, 2021, by Trumbull County sheriff deputies at state Route 534 and Housel Craft Road in West Farmington.