Men caught cooking cocaine in car face felony charges
February 8, 2006
By CHRISTINE L. PRATT
Staff Writer

RITTMAN - Two men driving along Eastern Road on Monday afternoon as they, presumably, were preparing to shoot up cocaine, face felony drug charges.

Steven N. Skelincka, 35, and his stepfather, Harry E. Bullock, 57, both of 22 Pebble Cove, Rittman, are charged in Wayne County Municipal Court with possession of crack cocaine.

The Rittman Police Department and the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency stopped the vehicle after learning it was suspected of bringing illegal narcotics into the city, said Chief Larry Boggs.

Skelincka came to the attention of police after school resource officer Paul Fiocca returned from a meeting with parents who reported they were concerned he was selling drugs to children, Boggs said.

During the traffic stop officers saw drugs inside the vehicle, Boggs said.

“Officers advised that the marijuana was in plain view when they rushed the car, and it became apparent that the two subjects were cooking the cocaine for use while driving on the roadway,” Boggs said.

Officers found 7 grams of crack cocaine, 120 grams of marijuana, a small amount of powder cocaine, LSD, syringes, crack pipes, a digital scale and $883 cash from the car.

“(Skelincka’s) very hooked on drugs, so he’s probably selling half of what he was using to support a habit,” Boggs said. “Both of them had needle marks all over their arms and legs from, admittedly, injecting cocaine.”

The syringes tested positive for cocaine, said Medway Director Chuck DeFelice.

“Anytime you take any drug dealer off the streets, especially in a small community like Rittman, it’s a great event,” Boggs said. “In my mind that eliminates a fairly good source of crack cocaine, and crack cocaine is addictive, so any time we get a guy with that amount, that’s great news, but he’s not the only one (dealing crack) in Rittman.”

Both men face five years in prison and fines of $10,000 each. They were incarcerated at the Wayne County Jail with bond set at $10,000 cash.

Reporter Christine L. Pratt can be reached at (330) 287-1643 or e-mail cpratt@the-daily-record.com.

Holmes commissioners updated on successful Medway work
February 7, 2006
By MATT TULLIS
Staff Writer

MILLERSBURG - Twenty-four indictments have stemmed Medway Drug Enforcement Agency’s first nine months of work in Holmes County, and all but one have resulted in guilty pleas by the defendants, according to Prosecutor Stephen Knowling.

Knowling, Sheriff Timothy Zimmerly, Medway Director Chuck DeFelice and Millersburg Police Chief Tom Vaughn met with the county commissioners to discuss Medway’s work in Holmes. The commissioners have appropriated $71,136 for Medway to continue drug investigations in the county in 2006.

“They have more than met my expectations in terms of the work being done,” Knowling said. “We have had no problems making cases on what they have given us.”

Zimmerly said the drug trade is spread all over the county. DeFelice said those dealing drugs in the county are a mix of outsiders and lifelong county residents. He also said he was surprised at the amount of product coming into the county.

“There were substantial cocaine dealers,” DeFelice said. “We got a guy who could deliver kilos to the area.”

Many of those targeted in the past year were drug dealers who were known to local law enforcement. Zimmerly said it was hard for the sheriff’s office to investigate those dealers because they make a point of knowing who all the deputies and detectives are. Medway was able to send undercover agents into the area to infiltrate drug rings, make controlled buys and ultimately obtain search warrants and indictments.

“We had some cases we were working on, and they took them over when they came on,” Zimmerly said. “There were cases they worked that we could never have gotten inside.”

Those investigations are giving Knowling everything he needs to get convictions.

“The quality of what we hear on these wires, we don’t get challenged on those,” Knowling said. “Once we get past the technicalities, the motions to suppress, they are not challenging the facts of what happened. You get to that point and the cases make themselves.”

Knowling said shutting down the drug trade will have an impact on other crimes in the area, like breaking and entering, passing bad checks and counterfeit money. There have also been several instances of child endangerment stemming from the Medway investigations, Knowling said.

“To see the impact it can have on kids, we have got to be able to fight this battle,” said Commissioner David Hall.

While some have questioned funding Medway, commissioner Joe Miller said it should be a priority in the county.

“It’s a priority to me to see that these things don’t happen,” he said, referring to the drug trade. “I appreciate you all putting the politics aside and doing the right thing for the county.”

Reporter Matt Tullis can be reached at (330) 674-1811 or e-mail mtullis@the-daily-record.com.