WARREN — A Warren man will serve a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty Thursday to charges connected to selling over six grams of methamphetamine and holding more than five times the bulk amount of the drug.
Jason E. Winkler, 41, of Meadow-brook Avenue SE, Warren, appeared before Judge Ronald J. Rice at his final hearing before his scheduled jury trial, which was to begin Tuesday.
Winkler also faces up to two years post-release supervision after his release from prison, court officials said.
“It was a mistake, and I apologize to the court and my family,” Winkler told the judge prior to sentencing.
The charges deal with a February 2021 drug investigation where Winkler sold meth to undercover officers, prosecutors said. The drug deal triggered investigators obtaining a search warrant, where more of the drug — more than 15 grams — were found. Under Ohio law, the bulk amount of meth equals more than 3 grams.
Winkler has been in Trumbull County jail since Sept. 23, 2021, records show.
In other drug cases heard by Rice on Thursday:
• Michael Bobbitt, 33, of Maryland Street NW, Warren, was sentenced to six months in prison on an aggravated possession of drugs conviction from December. Bobbitt, who the judge noted had three previous prison terms, was not a candidate for probation despite comments to the contrary made by his attorney, public defender Heather Ninni;
• Morgan W. McIntyre, 24, Kinsman Street NW, Warren, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated possession of drugs and will be sentenced March 24 after undergoing a background investigation by the probation department. McIntyre was found by Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers on Jan. 3, 2021, with a substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine;
• DeShawn Smith, 35, of George Place, Warren, was given a 90-day jail sentence after pleading guilty on Jan. 13 to an amended misdemeanor charge of attempted possession of cocaine. Rice said the defendant was uncooperative with probation officers during his presentence background investigation and thus was given the jail sentence;
• Robert Hurley, 53, of Princeton Road, Berlin Center, was given five years probation after he pleaded guilty Oct. 28, 2021, to a charge of aggravated possession of drugs. Hurley’s charges stem from a Jan. 3, 2021, arrest as Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers found methamphetamine during a traffic stop.
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