Muskingum prosecutors miffed at minimum sentence in drug-trafficking case
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – A Muskingum County man will serve over a decade in prison for drug-trafficking charges, but prosecutors attorneys were disappointed in the outcome.
According to the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office, Skyler Worline, 29, of Frazeyburg was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison – the minimum sentence – for trafficking over 2 pounds of methamphetamines.
In July, Worline pleaded guilty to three accounts of aggravated trafficking of methamphetamine after he was arrested on April 29 in Frazeysburg. Those charges come with a maximum sentence of 38½ years, and the prosecution requested a sentence of at least 20 years.
Local police officers pulled Worline over for speeding and observed a can of butane on the floor of the car. The officer called for backup to help search the vehicle because butane is used in the production of methamphetamine.
A K-9 unit indicated there were drugs in the car and a search revealed pipes, wrapped syringes and needles. Worline told police he had about 1 pound of methamphetamine in a backpack in the back seat.
Officers seized 2.6 pounds of methamphetamine, 119 grams of cocaine powder, 27 grams of crack cocaine and 18 grams of unknown pills. During a search of Worline’s home, police seized materials used for the production of crack cocaine, as well as drug paraphernalia and bags filled with money.
Worline admitted to officers that he planned on selling 2 pounds of meth that day in Columbus.
The Licking County’s Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force linked Worline’s case to investigations in New Albany and Dublin, where he had been caught with similar quantities of drugs. Those Franklin County investigations were wrapped into a single pattern of corrupt activity, and the Muskingum County attorneys agreed to take over the prosecution.
Assistant Prosecutor John Litle was hopeful of a lengthy prison sentence due to the number of drugs being trafficked across county lines but came away from the case flummoxed.
“It is difficult to understand, and even more difficult to explain to our law enforcement partners and community members how an individual who was caught with the maximum classified quantity of multiple different drugs, on three separate occasions, in three different counties, could end up with a single, minimum sentence,” he said.