Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Dealing Heroin that Directly Led to Overdose Death of Columbus Man

Anthony D. Scott, 28, of Columbus was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 240 months in prison for distributing the heroin that led to the overdose death of a Columbus man in August 2013.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, James V. Allen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Detroit Field Division, and agencies participating in the DEA task force announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Gregory L. Frost.

Scott pleaded guilty in February 2014 to distribution of heroin. At the time of his plea, Scott acknowledged distributing heroin on multiple occasions in July and August of 2013, including the heroin that caused the overdose-death of a 41 year-old Columbus man. He also admitted to possessing heroin, cocaine, and five firearms in his residence at the time of his arrest.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hunter told the court, “Presented here is not some hypothetical or rhetorical statement by a prosecutor about a defendant that is causing harm to the community; there was significant and compelling evidence that the heroin that Mr. Scott pumped into the streets of Columbus directly contributed to the death [of a Columbus-area man].”

Scott was also sentenced to serve six years under court supervision after he serves his prison time.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by special agents of the DEA, the police departments in Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Grove City, the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force (C.O.D.E.), Franklin County Sheriff Office, and the Fairfield-Hocking Major Crimes Unit for their participation in the investigation and arrest of Scott in August 2013. Scott has been in custody since the time of his arrest.