Staff photo /Chris McBride Attorney Carlo A. Ciccone, left, appears next to defendant Jason Garland in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Friday, where he pleaded guilty to drug charges and was sentenced by Judge Sean J. O’Brien to 9 to 13.5 years.

WARREN — An East Liverpool man was sentenced to an indefinite prison term of 9 to 13.5 years after Warren police caught him with more than 100 grams of various drugs.

According to Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow, Jason Garland, 35, could have faced about 38 years in prison if not for the plea deal.

Garland on Friday pleaded guilty to an amended indictment on two felony counts of possession of cocaine, and possession of a fentanyl-related compound in addition to a felony tampering with evidence charge.

Two charges from the initial indictment of Garland were dropped.

In September 2020, Warren police officers David Weber and Mario Matash, who are no longer with the Warren Police Department, were patrolling the Hampshire House Apartment complex when they observed a white Acura pulling out of the parking lot traveling over the 25 mph speed limit.

As the vehicle neared officers, Matash said the driver, later identified as Garland, had one hand on the steering wheel and his arm shielding his face from police, a report states.

The officers began to turn around to conduct a traffic stop when they reported seeing the vehicle begin to accelerate.

Officers pursued the vehicle to a parking lot on Fifth Street, where they found the white Acura unoccupied.

The report states officers gave chase, running along a fence line of nearby buildings before eventually spotting Garland.

Police said a man appeared and initially ignored commands to show his hands as he continued walking toward the parking lot. Weber eventually detained him.

Officers noted that Garland was “sweating profusely and breathing hard” as they began questioning him about driving and running away from them. Garland insisted to police that he was not the one driving. He said he had been walking along the sidewalk near the road, according to the police report.

Officers disputed Garland’s claim as Weber pointed out that he had just come from searching around the building. He also told Garland that he had only seen one set of footprints in the wet dew that he had been following between buildings.

When asked, police say Garland lied about his name telling them it was “Justin Foster”and that he was from East Liverpool.

The report states officers then escorted Garland back to the parking lot where their foot pursuit beganm but found a turned-on cell phone in the grass along the way. The officers collected it as evidence.

While searching Garland for weapons, Matash felt a bulge in Garland’s pocket that turned out to be three plastic bags — one was a clear plastic bag containing crack cocaine, the second was a tied-up black bag containing crack cocaine and the third was filled with an unknown substance, according to the report.

The two officers also recovered $4,420 in cash and a white tablet.

When officers tried placing Garland into a police cruiser to be further searched at the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office, the report states Garland shook free and began to run.

The chase lasted only seconds as Matash was able to tackle Garland to the ground.

Weber retraced the area for evidence and found a handgun near a bush, according to the report.

A supervisor and EMT responded to the area as Garland complained of having trouble breathing and was taken to St. Joseph Warren Hospital.

Hospital staffers removed Garland’s pants revealing a clear rubber glove that fell to the ground. Inside the glove was a clear plastic bag filled with white powder.

Another small bag was found in his underwear. The report states the bag had broken open.

At first, Garland refused to give officers and medical personnel his name, but after admitting to taking Percocet, he was administered Narcan by a nurse and became more forthcoming, the report states.

Garland eventually gave officers and staff his real name and date of birth, the report states.

Prosecutors say, in total, Garland had a handgun, 28.03 grams of powder cocaine, 26.32 grams of crack cocaine and 62.5 grams of a fentanyl-related compound, along with the $4,420 in cash.

Both the firearm and cash were forfeited as part of Garland’s plea agreement.

Garland has a scheduled release of Feb. 5 from the Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he was serving a sentence for a gun conviction in relation to this case.

cmcbride@tribtoday.com