Man sent to prison for selling drugs in county jail

PORT CLINTON — A man accused of helping a drug smuggler sell fentanyl to inmates in the Ottawa County jail was sentenced to prison.Timothy Johnson, 49, of Toledo, pleaded guilty to illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility and aggravated fentanyl trafficking in October.Johnson appeared in Ottawa County Common Pleas Court on Monday for his sentencing hearing. His attorney, David Klucas, argued for probation and participation in Ottawa County's drug court in lieu of a prison sentence.But Judge Bruce Winters sentenced him to three years for illegal conveyance and one and half years for fentanyl trafficking. The two sentences will be served at the same time for a total prison term of three years.Johnson was originally indicted on 17 felonies, which included charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, drug trafficking, conspiracy, money laundering, illegal conveyance and corrupting another with drugs.The charges stem from when he helped Corwin Qualls sell fentanyl to other inmates. An inmate eventually overdosed on fentanyl Johnson sold. The resulting investigation led to charges against him, Qualls and John Wyatt.Johnson and Wyatt accepted plea agreements, which saw the dismissal of many of the charges against them in exchange for their guilty pleas and cooperation in the case against Qualls.Ottawa County prosecutor James VanEerten previously told the Register that Johnson and Wyatt were addicts who acted as middlemen for Qualls in the drug exchanges.Qualls pleaded guilty to multiple felonies instead of relying on the jury's verdict after the prosecution presented its case at his trial. He received 20 years in prison — one of the longest sentences for drug-related crimes in the county's history — which was close to the maximum he could have received.Wyatt was sentenced to two and half years in prison after he pleaded to guilty to one count of complicity to illegal conveyance of drugs into a detention facility.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegister