Two Athens County residents were indicted Friday on charges of drug trafficking and possession of marijuana after eight people were arrested Thursday at the Smiling Skull Saloon, 110 West Union St., and the Lakeview Tavern, 3742 Enlow Road.
Theodore F. Palmer, 62, of Albany, was charged with four counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of trafficking Oxycodone, a painkiller. He was released without posting bond, said Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren.
Michael A. Spangler, 53, of Albany, was charged with three counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of possession of marijuana and was released without posting bond. He allegedly sold five pounds of marijuana to undercover officers for $1,600, Warren said.
Twenty-four charges against numerous individuals were made on Thursday, ranging from first-degree misdemeanors for conspiracy to third-degree felonies for aggravated drug trafficking, said Athens Police Department Chief Richard Mayer.
The maximum penalty for a third-degree felony is $10,000 and five years in prison, according to the Ohio State Bar Association (http://www.ohiobar.org).
The arrests were the result of a drug investigation by the police department, the Athens County Sheriff's Office, the Ohio Department of Safety's Investigative Unit and the Athens County Prosecutor's Office, Mayer said.
The investigation began last summer because of reports to the sheriff's office and the police department, Warren said.
Spangler's and Palmer's arraignments are scheduled for Wednesday at 9 and 10 a.m., respectively, in common pleas court.
17 Archives
Jayne Gest
