GREENVILLE — An unpaid water bill was allegedly behind a drug sale that landed a Dayton man in Darke County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

Carl J. Adkins, 46, went before Judge Jonathan P. Hein for a change of plea on a charge of aggravated trafficking in drugs.

Adkins was one of over a dozen individuals arrested as part of a six-month narcotics investigation, Operation Firecracker, conducted by the Darke County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Darke County Adult Probation, Union City Police Department, and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Darke County Prosecutor Kelly Ormsby, the case was one of complicity. The defendant was the driver of a vehicle wherein the primary suspect, a woman who shared an address with Adkins, allegedly made a drug sale out of the backseat.

While the name of the co-defendant was not given, the prosecutor stated there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest.

Adkins proceeded to plead guilty to an amended charge, as part of the plea agreement, of aggravated trafficking in drugs from a second-degree felony to third-degree. 

During sentencing, Ormsby cited Adkins had served time in prison for burglary charges out of Montgomery County. He also faces a fifth-degree felony case in the county with sentencing slated for Nov. 4.

Also, during sentencing, Defense Attorney Randall Breaden clarified the defendant was not living with the primary suspect. That she was using the location for mail and “bouncing around from place to place.” He further explained the water had been shut off at the defendant’s residence, and Adkins was told by the primary suspect, an individual in Greenville could lend him money to fix the issue. That Adkins’ role, as shown in a video of the transaction, was minimal and not as guilty as the suspect but still culpable.

Adkins was sentenced to 12 months in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction with 88 days jail credit, and up to three years of post-release control.