Drug charges lead to 3 years in jail

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DARKE COUNTY — On Wednesday, a Columbus, Ohio, man was sentenced in Darke County Common Pleas Court to three years in prison after pleading guilty to the manufacturing and possession of drugs.

The case of Daniel E. Reading, 36, was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday before a plea agreement was reached with the Darke County Prosecutor’s Office late Monday.

Reading was originally indicted by a grand jury on five felony drug-related counts April 29. The drug operation in Union City, Ohio, was discovered after an investigation by the Darke County Sheriff’s Office in January 2016.

In the agreement with the prosecution, Reading pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated trafficking of drugs, each fourth-degree felonies, and one count of illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, a second-degree felony. The trafficking charges were in relation to Oxycodone, while the illegal assembly charge was for manufacturing Methamphetamines.

The three-year sentence, applied to the illegal assembly charge, was mandatory. There was no additional time on the trafficking charges. Reading must also pay $535 in restitution as well as court costs.

Reading was also sentenced to pay a fine of $7,500, but Common Pleas Court Judge Jonathan Hein, noting the defendant’s indigence, said he ultimately may not be required to pay that amount, according to Darke County Prosecuting Attorney R. Kelly Ormsby.

Reading’s co-defendant in the case, Shane D. Livingston, 44, of Union City, Ohio, faces similar charges. He is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in Common Pleas Court on January 9, 2017, with a trial date set for March 14.

Reading avoids trial with guilty plea

By Erik Martin

[email protected]

The writer may be reached at 937-569-4314. Join the conversation and get updates on Facebook search Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com

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