MOUNT VERNON — Nine indictments were handed down by the Knox County Grand Jury on July 9, including additional drug trafficking charges against Deondre K. Brown, 31, and Courtney D. Nunn, 25, both of Toledo and more recently, Columbus.
According to Knox County Prosecutor John Thatcher, Brown and Nunn were indicted in June on heroin trafficking and possession charges, and Nunn was charged with tampering with evidence for destroying a cellular telephone allegedly used in drug trafficking activity. Brown and Nunn each face seven new counts of trafficking in heroin and one count each of compelling prostitution and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Thatcher said Brown and Nunn are accused of selling heroin on several hundred occasions, from early March until the beginning of June. The compelling prostitution charge alleges that Brown and Nunn forced another person to engage in sexual activity in exchange for drugs, Thatcher said. The engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity charge alleges that Brown and Nunn were associates while committing the other offense charged in the indictment. Detective Doug Turpen, Knox County Sheriff’s Office, and Detective Craig Feeney, Mount Vernon Police Department, investigated the cases.
Willie B. Moore, 48, Mount Vernon, is charged with trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in drugs. Moore allegedly sold drugs on three occasions in June. Two of the alleged drug sales occurred in the vicinity of a school, increasing the seriousness of the offenses charged, according to Thatcher. Detective Feeney investigated the case.
Wendy J. Brown, 33, Mount Vernon, is accused of trafficking in heroin on two occasions in May. Detective Turpen investigated the case.
Thatcher said on April 26, firefighters discovered an apparent marijuana grow in the basement of James T. Stein’s house, after they extinguished a chimney fire. Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant and seized the alleged marijuana and other items or evidence commonly used in the indoor cultivation of marijuana. Stein, 26, Fredericktown, is accused of illegal cultivation and possession of marijuana. Turpen investigated the case.
Allen D. Wheeler, 46, Centerburg, is accused of aggravated possession of drugs for allegedly being caught with Oxycodone pills during a traffic stop on Oct. 22, 2011. Sgt. Justin C. Hurlburt, Ohio State Highway Patrol, investigated the case.
Two men face felony domestic violence charges in unrelated cases.
Lee A. Milum, 34, Mount Vernon, allegedly assaulted his live-in girlfriend on June 15. According to the indictment, Milum was previously convicted of domestic violence in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court in April. Thatcher said Milum is also accused of felonious assault because his girlfriend required stitches for a forehead laceration. Patrolman Rex Young, MVPD, investigated the case.
Billy D. Jackson, 39, Mount Vernon, allegedly assaulted his girlfriend on June 28. According to the indictment, Jackson was previously convicted of domestic violence in the Mount Vernon Municipal Court in June 2011. Patrolman Qade Lewis, MVPD, investigated the case.
Richard L. Hamilton Jr., 40, Howard, is legally prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior conviction for a felony offense of violence. According to the indictment, Hamilton was convicted of felony child endangering in Montgomery County in 1997. Hamilton is accused of possessing weapons while under a legal disability for allegedly possessing a 7.62 caliber rifle, a .22 caliber rifle, a 12-gauge double barrel shotgun and a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun on July 7. Hamilton also faces receiving stolen property charges because the .22 caliber rifle and the two shotguns were allegedly stolen, according to Thatcher. Detective James Ferenbaugh, KCSO, investigated the case.
Arraignments on the nine indictments are scheduled for July 20, in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas.
