Authorities Arrest 13 Suspects In Morning Sweep
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Worthington Round-Up
More than a dozen suspects are arrested on drug-trafficking charges Thursday morning.
NBC 4
More than a dozen suspects are arrested on drug-trafficking charges Thursday morning.
CENTRAL OHIO—More than a dozen suspects were arrested on drug trafficking charges Thursday morning.
NBC 4 reported with the FAST FACTS.
The Franklin County sheriff’s office initiated investigations in the Worthington and north metropolitan areas of Franklin County.
The investigations resulted in securing multiple arrest warrants for individuals allegedly trafficking heroin and other dangerous drugs.
Worthington police and the U.S. Marshal’s office assisted the sheriff’s office’s special investigations unit in the arrests.
Authorities began the sweep at 6 a.m. Thursday and made the following 13 arrests:
- Joshua Ackert of Franklin County
- Anders Berner of Franklin County
- Jennifer Bootes of Worthington
- Jan Michael Byers of Franklin County
- Russell Conlon of Franklin County
- Adam Cullimore of Franklin County
- Carlos deLaSerda of Worthington
- Eric Gelin of Worthington
- Kyle Heller of Worthington
- Jason Huffer of Franklin County
- Sumyr Phillips of Worthington
- Shane Smelzter of Franklin County
- Braden Tizzano of Franklin County
Apparently, most of the arrests were of young people, ages 18 to 25 years old who still were living with their parents, according to authorities.
Authorities said many of the transactions in Worthington happened in the parking lot of the Worthington Mall.
Thea Phillips’ daughter Sumyr Phillips was arrested, but Thea said her daughter is innocent.
“I was in shock. I was surprised … because Sumyr doesn’t do drugs. As far as I know, she doesn’t do drugs. I just think she was with the wrong crowd,” Thea said.
Worthington police said heroin use and trafficking is a serious problem in the city.
Police said heroin is the drug of choice for young people because it’s cheap and easy to get.
The arrest warrants were the beginning of an ongoing endeavor to seek out those trafficking in serious addictive drugs and bring those individuals before a court of law.
Nineteen warrants were served, and authorities continued to search for six other suspects.
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Reader Reactions
Pure, don’t misunderstand me. I am compassionate and understanding for people who have no choice in a situation. But I am TIRED of the crime element and ultimately bearing the burden for people who detract vs. contribute to the well-being of our society as a whole. WE are going to pay for drug use just as sure as the user is. You know how? Court, prisons, rehab, medical, burglaries, beatings, thefts, broken families, diseases, and on and on and on. So WHAT they have a drug problem?!!! Most, if not all, of them CHOSE it when they’ve hearD ALL THEIR LIVES that it is harmful to the user on more levels than I will list. Do I have a choice as a taxpayer NOT to house and feed people for breaking very well known and clear laws and ignoring health risks? No! I am SICK of crime in my community. So, don’t suggest I am not compassionate when addicts don’t seem to give a damn about how THEIR CHOICES impact ME. In my book they are no different than the guy that broke in my car or the one that stole my purse. I have ugly labels, as you put it,but nbc4i won’t post my message if I said what I really thought of them.
I just read this article and I have to ask this question? Are you for real? Drugs are drugs, with no respect of persons. Is the shock more for the fact that it’s in Worthington or that it is young adults? There wasn’t a kid in the group that warranted the these are good kids. These are adults that made decisions over a long period of time to do what they thought they were grown enough to do and think that they wouldn’t get caught. If I read the article correctly, this was an ongoing investigation and I’m sure that the police had enough evidence to go after every one of the culprits. For there to be a drug problem in the first place takes two very important ingredients, users and sellers. Whatever side they’re caught on, it’s against the law and will have to suffer the consequences. Because some of them are still in school is not an excuse to not prosecute them. What it shows is that they took the the opportunity to use extracurricular activities to another level. It’s wake up time for those involved.
Wow. People can say allll they want about it not being Heroin, or its not their kid or that they shouldnt be so hard on them THESE are dealers of Heroin. Im sure that they will look at all the circumstances before they sentence these people but let me tell you what heroin is like. This drug is done one time and addicts are off and runnin for the next fix. It damn near killed a dear family member. Yes, they are an addict and thankfully, she is clean now but on a daily basis, I had to check her breathing to make sure she was alive. It IS cheap, it IS available everywhere, especially if you live close to a freeway. The addicts are not going to quit generally unless something drastic happens…This is a horrible drug, we NEED to send a point and get it OFF THE STREETS!!!!!!!
These kids all looked like homeless people. I bet they got caught because they were too busy on XBOXLive and didn’t hear the cops coming.
Heroin my ***. I’ll bet more than half of these kids were arrested for selling some weed…
godivadark, i would have to agree that many would not be rushing to support those convicted of the same things outside of their community, and thats what is so distressing to me.
these kids, more than anyone were the ones to see people for their true essence instead of immediately slapping ugly labels on someone.
i hate all of this, i feel that no matter how hard i should try to make most of you folks think with more compassion and understanding, that you would much rather argue your point instead of experiencing mine.
FREE BOOTES
godivadark is spot on.
Hmmm. I wonder if there would be so much defense of these lawbreakers if this happened in inner city Columbus vs. Worthington. I can hardly imagine so much understanding and excuse making if these people were from poorer parts of town. I just can’t imagine the same people who are campaigning for us all to be understanding would do the same for those outside their community. While I don’t disagree that an addict or user needs help, I do disagree w/ the notion that punishment shouldn’t be meted out because they are “nice” kids from a “nice” neighborhood. Another thing is why are parents and families so quick to say their kid was “with the wrong crowd”. Brace yourself because this may be hard to hear. Maybe your child IS the “wrong crowd” if they are doing heroine and toting weapons. Stop with the denial so you can start taking steps to do what you can to move your loved one in the right direction.
Just because someone is a nice person, doesn’t mean that the drug trafficking they do is allowed. You can say all you want about a person, but they still deal drugs and it’s illegal. But please feel free to post more BS, it’s fun to read.
KidsToParents 25 September 25 2009 Fri. 13:03
I have a few things to “respectfully” say back to the responses about this article.
.... These kids don’t wait until they turn 18 and then decide to ....“
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SO *U**I** CORRECT! I became addicted to tobacco long before age 18 and was unable to DETOX & recover until decades later.
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Kids (including myself) who abuse alcohol usually do so before age 18. I did not become addicted.
Beyond the legal consequences of illegal drugs are the risks.
D-E-A-T-H can unexpectedly hit home.
I investigated death claims for decades and have talked with many pathologists, toxicologists and other forensic professionals; so please don’t dance with me about illegal drugs and death risks. :-)
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