Man accused of selling cocaine near school gets three years probation
NEW PHILADELPHIA – A 27-year-old Tuscarawas County man accused of selling drugs near a Dover elementary school was sentenced to three years of probation on Tuesday.
Cullen Brogan could face 6 years in prison if he violates the terms of probation, which includes a 6-month treatment program at the Eastern Ohio Correction Center in Wintersville. Assigned Judge Edward O’Farrell told Brogan he owed it to his family to get clean.
“You’ve got an obligation not only to the court but to them to take a hold of your life and do what you need to do to seek the redemption that I hope you will receive as a result of following the orders of this court,” O’Farrell said.
“My hope is that you’ll receive all of the necessary tools to remain clean and sober going forward in your life and redeeming yourself but also recovering some self-worth and dignity.”
Brogan pleaded guilty in June to reduced felony charges, including trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine and aggravated possession of drugs. The initial indictment included a first-degree felony charge with a mandatory prison sentence. The charges in the negotiated plea deal ranged from third- to fifth-degree felonies without mandatory prison time.
Police say Brogan sold cocaine to undercover agents three times last fall at a residence within 1,000 feet of Dover Avenue Elementary.
Brogan told the court he needed treatment for drug addiction. His attorney, J Reid Yoder, said Brogan sold drugs to feed his own drug habit.
“I’m not… a bad person or someone that wants to hurt people,” Brogan said. “I just struggle with drug addiction. I have my whole life.
“Personally, I don’t feel that I need to be put in a cage, per se, behind bars. I truly feel that I need to be rehabilitated, and I have my whole life.”
Attorneys agreed on a plea deal in June that included two years of probation.
However, prosecutor Lacee Felix on Tuesday said she now wants Brogan to go to jail after he missed pre-sentencing interviews and failed a recent drug test. She said she would have requested the court keep Brogan in custody “a long time ago,” but she only found out about the violations on the morning of the sentencing. Brogan spent one day in jail after his arrest in this case.
“He has failed to abide by the terms of his pretrial release and thus has shown at least to the state – maybe not in the court’s opinion – that he is not amenable to court controlled sanctions,” Felix said. “He can’t even abide by the rules of pre-trial release.”
Brogan’s attorney said anxiety and stress led to missing those interviews.
“I understand the felony sentencing factors that this court is required to follow,” Yoder said, “but I also think as a community one of the things that we need to be interested in and willing to do is try to help those young people who have battled substance abuse.
“He is not out committing violent offenses or doing horrible things. He’s a good person who has… a substance abuse issue that is an addiction that needs to be treated and helped.”
O’Farrell added a third year of probation to the sentence. He ordered Brogan to pay court costs and $1,180 in restitution to the Tuscarawas County Joint Task Force. He waived thousands of dollars in mandatory fines after Brogan’s attorney argued he could not afford that because he is indigent.