Two men get prison time for selling drugs in Rittman

WOOSTER -- Two men who were caught selling drugs in Rittman were sentenced in Wayne County Common Pleas Court to prison.

Arthur L. Burnette, 46, 105 Gale Road, Barberton, was sentenced to two years in prison on two separate cases.

Daniel R. Walker, 30, 164 S. Main St., Rittman, was given two years in prison for two of his own cases.

Burnette was sentenced on three trafficking felonies: Aggravated trafficking in oxycodone, a fourth-degree felony, and trafficking in heroin and cocaine, both fifth-degree felonies. In a second case he was sentenced for illegal conveyance into a detention facility, a third-degree felony.

Don Hall, senior agent for Medway Drug Enforcement Agency, said the organization made several drug buys from Burnette in Rittman in January and April of last year. The second case stemmed from Burnette having drugs on him at the Wayne County Jail.

Other counts from his indictments were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea.

"I screwed up and I'm not a screw-up, your honor," Burnette told Judge Cory Spitler before receiving his sentence of 12 months on the three counts in the first case, to be served concurrently; Burnette was sentenced to 12 months in prison on the illegal conveyance to run consecutively to his other case, making a total of two years to be served total.

Walker was sentenced on his own cases Wednesday.

After he was given community control from a 2010 case in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in oxymorphone and oxycodone, Walker was sentenced by Spitler to 12 months in prison on each charge, to be served concurrently.

Hall noted Medway made some buys from Walker, also in Rittman.

Walker also pleaded guilty to a new case in which he was indicted for aggravated possession of oxycodone, stemming from a July incident.

Spitler sentenced him to 12 months in prison, to be served consecutively with Walker's other sentence, even though Walker and his attorney asked for probation.

"I feel like I have made progress," Walker said. "I made big progress and made a mistake."

"You were doing well on drug court," Spitler said to Walker, until he violated weeks before his graduation. "The problem is ... you fell off the face of the earth. I'd have thought the one thing you got out of drug court is when you make those missteps there's people there to help you. But you didn't and I can't overlook that."

Reporter Steve Huszai can be reached at 330-287-1645 or shuszai@the-daily-record.com. He is @GeneralSmithie on Twitter.