A Detroit resident was sentenced on July 21 to more than ten years in prison for drug trafficking and assaulting a federal officer in northern Ohio. Damarko Amir Kimble, age 29, received a sentence of 121 months in prison from U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary after pleading guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
According to court documents, federal officers encountered Kimble on October 7, 2024, at a service plaza parking lot along the I-80/90 turnpike in Sandusky County after noticing that his rental vehicle had expired registration tags. A K-9 unit alerted officers to illegal substances inside the vehicle. During a probable cause search of the car’s rear floorboard, officers found a backpack containing what they suspected was methamphetamine. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the substance as 577.7 grams of pure methamphetamine.
As officers attempted to arrest Kimble at the scene, he rushed toward one officer and knocked him off his feet before attempting to flee on foot. Officers apprehended him shortly afterward.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Border Patrol Sandusky Bay Station while Assistant United States Attorney Dexter L. Phillips prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws related to national security and public corruption, while defending civil suits brought against the United States; it serves as chief law enforcement office within its district under the Department of Justice and covers forty northern counties across Ohio through outreach programs that promote community safety and collaboration with schools and law enforcement agencies, according to its official website.