CLEARFIELD – An Ohio man accused of providing large amounts of drugs for distribution in Clearfield County was found guilty of all charges after a three-day trial on Wednesday.
A jury determined there was enough evidence to convict James Thomas, 52, of Akron, Ohio, for 11 counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and one count each of criminal conspiracy/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy/corrupt organizations, and criminal use of communication facility, all felonies.
Thomas was the source first for Don Mullens of Houtzdale until he died from a drug overdose in May of 2018 and then for his girlfriend, Sondra McQuillen, 56, according to grand jury testimony and testimony in the trial.
In a press conference in January of 2019, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the street value of the drugs in this case, which included methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs was estimated to be $1.5 million.
When he testified in his own defense Wednesday, Thomas said Mullens was a friend and claimed he was doing him a favor by providing him drugs for his girlfriend. Mullens couldn’t use drugs because he was on parole at that time.
He said he only sold drugs to him and then McQuillen after Mullens died. “I was doing it as a favor more than anything,” Thomas testified.
He also claimed the drugs found at his home had been left there in a bag, Mullens asked him to keep safe for him.
In his closing arguments, Joe Ryan of Reynoldsville, attorney for Thomas, stated that Thomas did not know McQuillen was “turning around and selling it.”
He also noted Thomas was not on local law enforcement’s radar for selling drugs.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Michael Madeira, who along with Senior Deputy David Gorman, was prosecuting the case, in his closing pointed to the evidence from cell phones as to how short the multiple trips to Ohio were and text messages between Thomas and McQuillen when she was getting close to his location.
Referring to Thomas selling to McQuillen after Mullens’s death, Madeira asked “does this sound like a friend, or a businessman?”
The investigation into this drug ring began in September of 2017, after several controlled purchases of meth from a Clearfield couple, Jason Lynn, 40, and Joyce Lee Merritts, 36, according to the grand jury testimony.
During the trial, testimony revealed Mullens and or McQuillen reportedly traveled to Ohio on approximately 26 occasions in 2018.
On July 26, 2018, law enforcement officers followed McQuillen and another individual to Akron where she met with Thomas. She purchased meth and other drugs for $3,800, according to the report.
She was followed back to Clearfield County where investigators executed a search warrant on her vehicle.
Officers reportedly found one third of a pound of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, marijuana and pills suspected to be prescription medications in the vehicle.
Search warrants were also executed at Thomas’s residence the same day. It uncovered four ounces of meth, almost 200 grams of cocaine/crack and marijuana.
In the barber shop where he worked, police found two pounds of meth, over four ounces of cocaine and almost three pounds of marijuana, according to previous reports.
The grand jury learned that Thomas admitted he met with McQuillen on the day she was stopped by police, through prison telephone calls. He further admitted that he should have stopped “doing things” with McQuillen after Mullens died.
In February of 2019, Jason Merritts pleaded guilty to selling methamphetamine from this source at their apartment in Lawrence Township.
For felony charges of possession with intent to deliver-methamphetamine, criminal conspiracy, criminal use of communication facility, endangering the welfare of children, and corrupt organizations, Judge Paul Cherry sentenced him to 3½ to seven years in state prison with an additional 10 years of probation.
In July of 2019, Joyce Merritts, 36, was placed in the state’s intermediate punishment program for similar drug offenses.
McQuillen, who testified at Thomas’s trial, is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Thomas will be scheduled for sentencing within 60 days. He is already serving a federal sentence on drug and firearm charges totaling 15 years, according to testimony at the trial.