The former secretary of Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren pleaded not guilty today to a total of seven counts resulting from an October drug investigation.
Constance Connie Zwahlen will go to trial for one count of complicity to illegal cultivation of marijuana, a second-degree felony, and six counts of trafficking in drugs, allegedly the pain-relief narcotic Percocet. Her husband, Hans Zwahlen, faces one count of the illegal cultivation of marijuana.
Michael Spahr, the special prosecutor in the case, said a count of cultivating marijuana normally is a third-degree felony, but because it was allegedly cultivated in the vicinity of children, the crime is considered a second-degree felony.
The second-degree felony has a maximum sentencing of eight years in prison. Connie Zwahlen's six counts of allegedly trafficking drugs are fourth-degree felonies and carry a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison for each count.
The Zwahlens will be tried by jury separately on July 31.
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Emily Shuki
