Port Clinton cases top task force list
The Ottawa County Drug Task Force handled fewer indictments or bills of information in 2013 than it did the previous year — but, once again, a good deal of the work was done in Port Clinton.
“The 67 Drug Task Force indictments charged a total of 167 felony offenses, 73 of which occurred within the city limits,” Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan said.
In 2012, the task force handled 78 indictments or bills of information.
“Forty of those indictments charged felonies which took place in the city of Port Clinton,” he said.
Mulligan expects that number to rise, due to the fact the city annexed property this year that had been part of Bay Township.
The city contributed $35,000 of the task force’s budget of about $275,500 in 2013. This year’s city budget includes a reduced amount for the drug task force — $10,000.
In a Jan. 22 letter to Port Clinton City Council, Mulligan urged members to pay more.
“As you can see, $35,000 is approximately 12.7 percent of the annual Task Force budget ($10,000 is a little over 3.5 percent). Nearly half of the felony drug offenses investigated by the Drug Task Force in 2013 took place within the city limits of Port Clinton. With the addition of recently incorporated property on the western side of Port Clinton, I would expect the number of drug cases attributed to the city in the future to rise accordingly,” the prosecutor wrote.
“In a recent conversation with Mayor Leone, he assured me of his belief that the city’s reduction in financial support of the Drug Task Force is for 2014 only, and is expected to return to $35,000 in future years.”
Port Clinton topped the list of number of cases worked in 2013 with 69. Next on the list are Portage Township with 20, Salem Township with 14, Carroll Township with 13, Genoa with 12 and Allen and Erie townships and Oak Harbor with 11. All other areas had 10 or fewer cases.
The city topped the list again with the number of felony cases, with 73. It is followed by Portage Township with 17, Rocky Ridge with 11, Catawba Island Township with 10, Genoa and Clay Township with 8, and Oak Harbor as well as Danbury and Bay townships with 7. All other areas had five or fewer cases.
Port Clinton also had the most misdemeanor charges with five, followed by Catawba Island Township with four and Erie Township with 3. Danbury and Portage townships, as well as Oak Harbor and Rocky Ridge, each had two.
In 2013, the force seized $373,777 worth of drugs, $4,270 worth of currency and two handguns.
The drugs included amphetamine, cocaine, crack, heroin, hydrocodone, K2, ecstacy, marijuana, oxycodone, suboxone and tramadol.
Most of the value of drugs seized was in marijuana. The value of 2,804 grams of processed marijuana was nearly $55,000, and the value of 308 plants was $308,000.