Local woman sentenced on drug charges
A Marietta drug trafficker found with methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday in Washington County Common Pleas Court.
Rebecca L. Sergent, 26, of 1320 Caywood Road, Marietta, pleaded guilty to two fifth-degree felony counts of possession of drugs for the meth and heroin and one fourth-degree felony count of trafficking cocaine.
Washington County Prosecutor Kevin Rings explained in Judge Mark Kereyni’s courtroom Thursday that the charges actually stemmed from two separate incidents between Sergent and the Major Crimes Task Force.
On May 6, 2015, agents of the task force arrested three suspects for trafficking in drugs by utilizing a confidential informant and purchasing 7.65 grams of crack cocaine from Sergent at a parking lot on Acme Street in Marietta.
Following the transaction, agents conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle in which Sergent was a passenger. Agents identified the driver as Shamir A. Burns, 18, of 6179 Karl Road, Columbus, and the front seat passenger as a 17-year-old Columbus resident, according to the release. Burns was sentenced to 180 days in jail for a third-degree felony charge of drug trafficking and a fifth-degree felony charge of possession of drugs.
From inside the center console of the vehicle, agents recovered the currency used to purchase the cocaine. Under questioning, Sergent said she rented a room at a local motel for Burns and the juvenile and that Burns provided her with the crack cocaine to sell. Sergent also stated after she sold the cocaine she gave the proceeds from the sale to Burns and the juvenile, according to the sheriff’s office.
As part of Sergent’s plea agreement the cocaine charge was lowered from a third-degree felony count for being in the presence of a minor to a fourth-degree charge.
“Then on Oct. 25, 2016 while Miss Sergent was out on bond she was arrested for the two fifth-degree felony possessions for heroin and meth,” explained Rings.
Sergent submitted a written plea to the possession and trafficking charges Thursday but did not make a statement during her subsequent sentencing.
Kerenyi sentenced Sergent to seven months for each fifth-degree felony charge to run concurrently after a 17-month sentence to be served for the cocaine trafficking charge for a total of two years in prison at the Marysville Reformatory for Women.
Sergent will receive 153 days credit for time already served in the Washington County Jail.
At a glance
¯ Rebecca L. Sergent, 26, of 1320 Caywood Road, Marietta, was sentenced to two years in prison at the Marysville Reformatory for Women Thursday.
¯ Sergent pleaded guilty Thursday in Washington County Common Pleas Judge Mark Kerenyi’s court to three separate drug charges stemming from incidents in 2015 and 2016.
¯ Sergent pleaded guilty to the following:
– Trafficking in cocaine, a fourth-degree felony.
– Possession of heroin, a fifth-degree felony.
– Possession of methamphetamine, a fifth-degree felony.
¯ Sergent faced up three-and-a-half years in prison for the charges but through a plea agreement will only serve years with a 153-day credit for time already served.
Source: Washington County Common Pleas Court.