Two people were sentenced to prison terms Friday after pleading guilty to drug charges in Highland County Common Pleas Court.
Robert Wayne Preston III, 23, Mount Orab, was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, a third-degree felony.
The three-year prison term is the maximum allowed for the offense and was a joint recommendation by the state and defense.
As per the plea agreement, a second-degree felony charge of illegal manufacture of drugs was dismissed. With that charge a prison term of at least three years would have been mandatory. Under the current sentencing, Preston can file for judicial release before the whole of his 36 months is served.
Prosecutor Anneka Collins said Preston has a prior conviction out of Clinton County and had completed the STAR residential treatment program in 2014.
Jamie Ann Lowe, 54, Hillsboro, pled guilty to third-degree felony aggravated possession of methamphetamine. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Lowe said she was also currently on community control for an illegal assembly charge out of Montgomery County. She could be subject to more prison time should that county revoke her probation due to the Highland County case, judge Rocky Coss said.
Assistant prosecutor Jim Roeder noted that Lowe had “multiple prior felonies.”
Upon reviewing Lowe’s record, Coss said the defendant was “lucky” she hadn’t been to prison more than three times already.
As part of her plea agreement Lowe will forfeit more than $500 to the state.
Also pleading guilty on Friday was David Perkins, 43, Sardinia. He admitted to third-degree felony marijuana possession. A marijuana cultivation charge was dismissed with the plea agreement. He also agreed to the forfeiture of two shotguns and a rifle. He is to be sentenced in March following a presentence investigation.
Tiffany M. Bennett, 29, Greenfield, was granted judicial release to the STAR residential treatment facility. She will remain in prison until her February bed date at STAR. Bennett was convicted in 2016 by a guilty plea to an illegal assembly charge, but it was also in the vicinity of a juvenile, which elevated it to a second-degree felony. She was sentenced to 30 months in prison six months ago.
Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.
