COLUMBUS, Ohio - Former Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Jason J. Delcol and co-defendants Stevedore Crawford, Jr., Carlos Carvalho and Benjamin J. Owings pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today for their roles in a drug-trafficking ring.
Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and members of the Delaware County Drug Task Force announced the pleas offered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King.
The men are four of six who were charged in February 2018 in the drug-trafficking operation in Delaware, Ohio.
According to the Statement of Facts, in 2017 and 2018, Delcol engaged in a drug-trafficking conspiracy with co-defendants Owings and Nicholas Glassburn. Delcol engaged in the conspiracy while serving as a Trooper in the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Delcol obtained drugs from Owings - namely, testosterone, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone - and then provided them to Glassburn. Likewise, he obtained separate drugs - hydrocodone, oxycodone and Xanax - from Glassburn and provided them to Owings. Most of the time, Delcol distributed the substances at Glassburn’s residence on Rheem Street, which is near Conger Elementary School in Delaware.
In August 2017, Delcol committed witness tampering by engaging in misleading conduct toward local law enforcement to help Glassburn avoid arrest and prosecution. According to the Statement of Facts, on August 5, 2017, police encountered Glassburn asleep at the wheel and when officers searched his vehicle, they found cocaine and crack cocaine. Glassburn untruthfully told law enforcement he had found the drugs in one of his children’s rooms and had removed them. He said he had called a friend who was a state trooper, Delcol, and Delcol told him to destroy the drugs or take them to a police station. Law enforcement called Delcol to confirm the story and Delcol identified himself as a state trooper and lied on Glassburn’s behalf. Four days later in a follow-up call, Mr. Delcol again lied to police to help Glassburn.
In February 2018, when law enforcement searched Delcol’s home, they discovered a machine gun and a silencer, neither of which was registered.
Delcol pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a public elementary school, witness tampering and possession of an unregistered machine gun and an unregistered silencer. The drug-trafficking conspiracy charge carries a potential maximum of 40 years in prison. Witness tampering is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Possessing an unregistered machine gun and silencer carries a potential maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Delcol also agreed to forfeit the illegally possessed weapons.
Crawford engaged in the drug-trafficking conspiracy by distributing cocaine and crack cocaine to Glassburn and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a public elementary school. The conspiracy charge in Crawford’s case is punishable by a range of five to 80 years in prison.
Carvalho pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. According to his Statement of Facts, from 2016 to 2018, Carvalho supplied Glassburn with marijuana. He would often travel to Colorado to purchase multiple pounds of marijuana and instructed Glassburn to transfer drug proceeds from Ohio to Colorado to further the drug-trafficking operation.
Owings distributed testosterone, anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and oxycodone pills to Delcol. He also received hydrocodone, oxycodone and Xanax from Delcol. Owings pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the FBI and Delaware County Drug Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate, who is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
