A Rootstown man will spend at least five years in prison after being sentenced on drug trafficking charges earlier this summer.
On December 22, Cody Baldwin-Neiswanger, 31, was sentenced to 5 to 7.5 years in prison by Ravenna Portage County Civil Court Judge Becky Doherty. Baldwin Neswanger’s minimum sentence is five years, and the Ohio Department of Corrections could sentence him to up to half his original sentence based on his behavior in prison, Dougherty said.
“Methamphetamine trafficking poses a serious threat to public safety, devastates families and contributes to crime in our communities,” Portage County Prosecutor Connie J. Lewandowski said in a release. “This sentence holds Baldwin-Neiswanger accountable and sends a clear message that those who profit from the distribution of these dangerous drugs will face severe consequences.”
Prosecutor Sean Scahill asked for a sentence of six to nine years, which he said was based on an investigation at the scene, Baldwin-Neiswanger’s previous prison record and the fact that he had about 35 grams of methamphetamine when he was arrested by Ravenna police in July.
According to a Ravenna police report, on July 5 at about 1 p.m., an off-duty Ravenna police officer saw Baldwin-Neiswanger entering the Subway restaurant on East Main Street. The officer recognized him from previous encounters and was aware that the Ohio Adult Parole Authority had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The officer contacted an on-duty K-9 officer who was on patrol, who responded to the area and saw Baldwin-Neiswanger standing at Main and Chestnut streets. Baldwin-Neiswanger continued walking west on Main Street when police stopped him between Park Road and Meridian Street. The officer said he warned Baldwin-Neiswanger that he had his K-9 Drago with him. Two other officers arrived shortly after.
Baldwin-Neiswanger was eventually handcuffed when a third officer arrived with a cruiser to take him into custody. He continued to resist and officers had to pin him against the cruiser to restrain him while they searched him, the report states.
Three plastic bags containing suspected methamphetamine, totaling 35.27 grams, were found in his pants pockets, along with $612 in cash, the report states.
In October, he pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony count of aggravated trafficking in drugs, with a forfeiture of $612. Other charges listed in the indictment earlier this year were dismissed in a plea agreement.
Baldwin-Neiswanger’s attorney, Joe Messuri, asked that the sentence be limited to two to three years and that he be sent to drug treatment after that. Under the plea agreement, the possible minimum sentence is two to eight years in prison.
“He understands that if he wants to stay out of jail, he needs to change his life, and I think he’s finally getting to the point where he wants to do that and make changes for himself.”
Baldwin-Neiswanger asked Dougherty to reduce his sentence to two years and send him to a drug rehab facility upon completion of his sentence.
“I ruined my life,” he said, adding that he had struggled with drug addiction his entire adult life. “To be honest, I was lost and I needed help… I knew I could get better, but I needed help, and I think it all started with facing my addiction.”
Doherty said she had heard him say similar things before. “Honestly, it sounds like a bit of a broken record,” she said, adding that he took “a lot of meth” while on parole.
“That’s part of my problem,” she said. “You had other opportunities but you didn’t take advantage of them.”
She encouraged him to take advantage of the opportunity to receive treatment in prison.
She said the Ohio Department of Corrections will decide after five hearings whether to release Baldwin-Neiswanger or extend his sentence based on factors such as his behavior in prison, whether he took advantage of prison programming and whether he would pose a danger to the community if released. He will be subject to random drug testing, she said.
He also faces a $7,500 fine, which he must pay when he is released from prison, Dougherty said.
The $612 he had with him when he was arrested will be confiscated by the Ravenna Police Department, she said.
Dougherty sentenced Baldwin-Neiswanger to four years in prison in May 2021 after he pleaded guilty to three felony counts of fourth-degree unlawful sexual conduct and one felony count of misdemeanor interference with custody, all involving a girl who was 14 years old at the time of the crimes, according to Portage County court records.
Dougherty also determined that Baldwin-Neiswanger is a Level 2 sex offender, which requires him to register with the sheriff every six months for 25 years in any county where he lives, works or attends school.
In the plea agreement, other charges in the grand jury indictment were dismissed, including five counts of rape and one count of kidnapping, all first-degree felonies, and two additional counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The dismissed charges involved the same victim.
He was released in May and sentenced to five years of probation under the supervision of the Adult Parole Authority, according to Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections records.
Record-Courier reporter Jeff Sanders contributed to this article. Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared in the Record-Courier: Rootstown man sentenced to 5 years in prison for drug trafficking
