Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Ohio
Friday, Aug. 2, 2013
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
Public Affairs Officer
A U.S. District Court jury in Columbus, Ohio convicted Jack A. Morris, 37, of Columbus of gun and drug trafficking crimes. Morris faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Robin Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Columbus Field Division (ATF), and Gahanna Police Chief Dennis Murphy announced the verdict returned today following a trial that began July 29 before U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.
Trial testimony showed that Morris and others supplied street level distributors of marijuana, cocaine and oxycodone with firearms and body armor as a way of protecting themselves from potential robberies. Morris also placed firearms in strategic locations throughout his house in order to intimidate potential robbers and protect the narcotics and proceeds kept at the house.
The jury convicted Morris of one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, two gun counts, and nine counts of illegally trafficking marijuana and oxycodone.
Two others indicted with Morris in April 2013, Jeremy S. Baker, 25, of Blacklick, and Judy L. Kindle, 45, of Columbus, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. Christopher Wilcox, 30, of Reynoldsburg, pleaded guilty to supplying firearms including an AK-47 and an AR-15, knowing that the weapons were to be used in the drug trafficking.
Judge Frost will schedule a date for sentencing. Morris has been in custody since his arrest in May 2013.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation conducted by ATF and the Gahanna Police officers, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David DeVillers and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Dunbar with Columbus City Attorney Rick Pfeiffer’s Office, who are representing the United States in the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
