Local News

Irwin Gray sentenced to nine years

One-third of a set of defendants in a methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking case from last summer is headed to more than a decade of prison service.

"He's doing an additional two years in Pennsylvania after he gets out for violating terms of his last prison release," said Lt. Josh Staats, of the Washington County Sheriff's Office and commander of the joint Washington Morgan Noble Major Crimes Task Force. "His criminal record is pretty lengthy, not only with drugs but also firearms."

Irwin Alexander Gray, 30, of 11-11 128th St., Jamaica, N.Y., was sentenced to nine years in prison during a hearing in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday following a previous plea to one first-degree felony of aggravating trafficking in drugs and having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony.

"The only other thing dropped in the plea agreement was the MDO," noted Assistant Prosecutor Joe Derkin, describing a specification on the two counts that would have designated Gray as a Major Drug Offender, under Ohio Revised Code.

Gray was initially indicted with four first-degree felony counts and the third-degree felony count in July.

"I know that there were various other jurisdictions involved in this, is there anything that the state needs to add before proceeding," Judge John Halliday asked during Wednesday's hearing.

Derkin said Wood County, W.Va., officials did not intend to prosecute Gray for drug charges faced across the Ohio River, noting that the inter-agency cooperation crossing state lines made the apprehension of Gray and co-defendants Haley Renee Delong, 20, of 616 Olive St., Parkersburg, and Daushawn Vaughn Kirby, 31, of 1771 Horizon Drive, Akron, possible by the Ohio task force.

"It's the only way we get stuff accomplished," noted Staats following the hearing. "If we didn't share information all across law enforcement agencies in the nation, we wouldn't stand a chance. … They had moved back and forth, he was bouncing around all over the place selling dope since he got out of prison."

Staats explained that communication was critical to the arrest of the three defendants describing how Wood County investigators shared that the three had "moved from Parkersburg because of all the pressure" from law enforcement in West Virginia.

When apprehended in Marietta at a private vacation rental on Wooster Street in July, Staats and Derkin explained, the compilation of Ohio and West Virginia investigations aided in the prevention of more than 300 grams of illegal drugs being distributed into the community.

"They were down here and were renting an Airbnb and selling meth and fentanyl out of it," described Derkin.

According to Derkin, 346.32 grams of methamphetamine and 26.1 grams of fentanyl were seized in the drug raid in July, alongside a handgun and approximately $1,700 in cash.

According to the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network's drug trend reports published by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the most recent documented rate for methamphetamine in southeast Ohio is between $40-50 per gram; and for fentanyl in the region the rate is $80-$100 per gram.

By that math, the seized drugs were worth between $15,936 and $19,926.

But Staats explained that the resale value at a street-level is much higher.

"That's what's so attractive to dealers here," he explained. "Especially when they're cutting things like fentanyl by a tenth and making one ounce into three."

Staats explained that profits for methamphetamine locally would run costs of $60-100 per gram, with fentanyl reaching much higher at $300-500 per gram; affording a minimum return of $28,609 to $37,242 for the quantity of drugs siezed.

"That's assuming your drug dealer is honest in giving you a whole gram or a whole tenth and not cutting it more to get a higher profit," said Staats.

Derkin noted that neither Delong nor Kirby had pleaded to their indicted charges in advance of Gray's sentence hearing. He said the cases against Delong and Kirby are still scheduled to proceed to trial.

Janelle Patterson may be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.