CRIME

Drug trafficker sentenced to 30 months in prison

Heroin found after troopers stopped vehicle on Ohio Turnpike

Craig Shoup
The News-Messenger
Pinchello Bell

FREMONT - An Illinois man was sentenced to 2½ years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to aggravated trafficking drugs from an April incident.

Pinchello Bell, 36, of Park Forest, Illinois, was one of three men traveling eastbound along the Ohio Turnpike when they were pulled over by the Ohio Highway Patrol and discovered to have 158 grams of a powder substance later identified as heroin with a street value of $28,000.

Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Hart ordered Bell's 2016 Dodge Charger and Glock 40-caliber handgun be confiscated and fined him $5,000.

Bell is eligible for early release and will be placed on three years of probation after being released from prison.

A trooper said  "drug indicators were observed" after the traffic stop, which led to the search and recovery of the drugs. A loaded handgun was found in the vehicle, troopers said.

Arrested along with Bell were Leroy Buttrom and Deon Thompson.

Deon Thompson

Thompson, 53, of Detroit, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Hart after he pleaded guilty to aggravated trafficking charges.

Buttrom, 39, of Redford Township, Michigan, is awaiting a one-day jury trial Nov. 20 on aggravated trafficking, possession of fentanyl charges and receiving stolen property. 

Leroy Buttrom