Agreement reached in Dickinson man's marijuana case
A 23-year-old Dickinson resident will plead guilty in exchange for three years of probation, his attorney said Tuesday during a hearing at the Stark County Courthouse.
A 23-year-old Dickinson resident will plead guilty in exchange for three years of probation, his attorney said Tuesday during a hearing at the Stark County Courthouse.
However, Judge H. Patrick Weir ordered an investigation before accepting the proposed plea agreement.
Chaz Stoneman Myers, aka Chaz Smith, is charged with criminal conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, a Class A felony. He also faces two counts of delivering marijuana, each a Class B felony.
Mary Nordsven, Myers’ attorney, said it would be difficult to convict Myers on the conspiracy to deliver charge.
“The situation, factually, is a little unusual,” Nordsven said. “I don’t think we have any real evidence in terms of recorded comments.”
After the hearing, Stark County State’s Attorney Tom Henning said Myers didn’t physically deliver meth, but allegedly facilitated a sale between a man and a confidential informant.
Myers is accused of discussing the price of meth and likely profit margins in December, according to his criminal complaint.
Nordsven said Myers would plead guilty in exchange for a deferred imposition of sentence and probation. Deferring the sentence gives Myers the possibility of having the three charges dismissed.
However, if he violates the terms of the proposed agreement, he could face a sentence of up to 40 years.
“I’m going to need substantial reasons to defer imposition of sentence in a case like this,” Weir said.
Henning said he offered the plea agreement because Myers does not have a criminal history.
Nordsven asked Weir to take Myers’ age into consideration.
“Hopefully he’s learned that this is not an easy way to make a living,” Nordsven said. “I think he’s learned his lesson.”
Myers would also have to pay $2,900 in fines and fees if Weir accepts the proposed agreement.
“We have somewhat routinely offered a deferred imposition on marijuana charges,” Henning said after the hearing. “The thought there is simply ‘do we really need them in the pen yet?’”
It’s not as common to defer a sentence in a meth case, he added.
Myers was released from the Southwest Multi County Correction Center in February on a $5,000 bond, according to court records.
Another hearing will be scheduled after the investigation is conducted.
Tags: stark county courthouse, chaz myers, news, methamphetamine
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