Bradford woman sentenced for child endangering

0

MIAMI COUNTY — A Bradford woman was found guilty of child endangering this week in Miami County Municipal Court in connection with an incident in which two men were accused of selling marijuana to an undercover Troy police officer.

Morgan L. Carder, 21, received one year of probation, a $150 fine and 180 days of suspended jail time for first-degree misdemeanor child endangering.

According to municipal court records, Carder had a child younger than 2 months old present in a vehicle involved in an incident in which two male subjects — Jordan R. Ferguson, 23, and James L. Oburn, 21 — allegedly sold marijuana to Troy Police Department detectives on Dec. 21 on the 900 block of West Main Street in Troy. Oburn fled on foot and was apprehended at the Marathon station on West Main Street and Elm Street. Detectives recovered approximately an ounce of marijuana from the subjects, according to previous reports.

Carder was not charged until January, though. According to municipal court records, after the original incident, a Troy officer told Carder that “she was given a huge break being allowed to go home” and that she would not face charges as long as she did not expose the Facebook account that the undercover officer was using. The officer wrote in his narrative in his report, “I told her that if she exposed that, I wasn’t going to be happy and she would be looking at multiple charges,” according to court records.

Carder was charged following a drug-related arrest video that went viral online showing a Dec. 27 drug buy, receiving more than 2 million view on various social media platforms. The drug buy was captured on video by the suspect following his arrest for selling counterfeit drugs in the Troy Community Park. Khristian D.L. Felver, 20, of Troy, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree felony trafficking counterfeit drugs by the Troy Police Department in connection with that incident.

The Troy officer noted that Carder had identified him as the officer in video in social media posts. The officer also noted that the fallout of the viral video “caused a steady stream of individuals sending harassing messages to the police department” and “people suggesting that individuals follow me home.”

Carder also was charged with fifth-degree felony trafficking in drugs in connection with this incident. That charge was dismissed in municipal court this week.

Ferguson, who has previous addresses in Troy and Bradford, was charged with fifth-degree felony trafficking in drugs in connection with this incident. His case was bound over to Miami County Common Pleas Court where it was dismissed last month without prejudice pending laboratory results.

Ferguson also was charged with first-degree misdemeanor child endangering. That case is still open in municipal court, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for May 2.

Oburn, who has previous addresses in Piqua and Greenville, was charged with fifth-degree felony trafficking in drugs in connection with this incident. He was found guilty in common pleas court last month and sentenced to 12 months in prison. As part of a plea agreement, Oburn was not charged with child endangering.

Also recently sentenced in Miami County Municipal Court:

• Brittany L. Etherington, 34, of Greenville, received a $75 fine and 30 days of suspended jail time for fourth-degree misdemeanor unauthorized use of property, amended down from first-degree misdemeanor theft.

Child present during reported marijuana buy

By SamWildow

[email protected]

Reach Sam Wildow at [email protected].

No posts to display