Two defendants from a suspected Ohio drug crew appeared in court Monday for a preliminary hearing resulting in one of them getting several charges dropped.

Elijah G. Alexander, 30, and Terrell M. McDowell, 38, of Youngstown, both appeared in District Judge William Fullerton's court for charges they were part of a drug distribution ring.

Last month, they were among nine people arrested during two drug raids executed within 30 minutes of each other at two Butler apartments.

All of the defendants initially were charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes.

Additionally, they were charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes.

Fullerton declined to drop any of Alexander's charges.

After the July 27 raid, McDowell and Alexander were arrested and placed in Butler County Prison but released after each posting $100,000 bonds earlier this month.

During the dual raids, police seized nearly $7,000, according to investigators, in addition to more than 11 grams of suspected crack, at least 3 grams of heroin, drug-packaging materials and other contraband, and cellphones.

During Monday's hearing before District Judge Fullerton, Alexander and McDowell, along with their lawyers, heard testimony from a state police vice officer, the only witness to testify at the hearing. The Butler Eagle's policy is to not identify such officers due to the nature of their assignment.

Alexander's lawyer, Ralph Karsh, continually objected to the officer's testimony as hearsay since much of his testimony relied on what the officer was told from other police agents. Fullerton denied his objections.

After the hearing, both lawyers for the defendants asked that charges against their clients be dropped, citing a lack of damning evidence. They argued that since neither of their clients were found to be have any drugs in their pockets, the drug charges were inappropriate.

McDowell's lawyer, J.W. Hernandez-Cuebas, asked for all counts to be dismissed against his client, noting that the only thing McDowell had on him at the time of his arrest was thousands of dollars in cash. Some of the bills were registered by law enforcement during previous controlled buys, where a confidential informant bought drugs using “marked” bills.Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz, who is prosecuting the case, argued that “While he didn't have drugs on him, he had marked buy money and if we use common sense, it was used for drugs.”“At any given point, I, as a private criminal defense attorney, might have a large sum of money on me and that some of it may well be buy money,” Hernandez-Cuebas said. “So no, common sense does not determine that I use drugs.”The network of suspected dealers — known as the “Youngstown Crew” — had been on police radar for some time, according to investigators.Informants apparently first tipped off authorities that the crew was trafficking crack and heroin in the Butler area.According to police, crew members would typically set up shop at a drug user's home to deal narcotics. Police said two suspected sites of operation included homes in the city at 410 E. Locust St., Apt. 1, and at 331 W. North St., Apt. 9.On the day of the raids, Alexander was arrested at 410 E. Locust St. and McDowell was arrested in a car that took off from the apartment on West North Street.The car was observed traveling the wrong way on a one-way street, giving police the chance to stop the vehicle. In the trunk, they found a digital scale with suspected cocaine residue, empty glassine bags commonly used to package drugs, and a small amount of money, police said.Much more money was seized when officers searched the occupants in the vehicle.McDowell had $3,360 inside a shoe and an additional $695 in his left pocket, according to charging documents. Police also noted recorded, official funds used in the previous drug buys among the money in the defendants' possession.At the end of Monday's hearing, Fullerton dropped three charges against McDowell: a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver and misdemeanors charges of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess drug paraphernalia. He still faces the following: felony counts of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, conspiracy of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and conspiracy of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, and misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.Monday's mixed results reflected a similar turn of events in the Aug. 9 hearing for the other seven defendants. For one defendant, Angel S. Thompson, 25, of Boardman, Ohio, all charges were dismissed.The cases against Alexander, McDowell, and the remaining defendants have all been bound over for common pleas court. In addition to Alexander, all the charges remain against Phillip Hoak, 32, and David W. Robertson Jr., 37, both of Butler, and both are still in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.Fullerton also dismissed charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and possession of a controlled substance for the following four defendants:Bryant L. Battle, 49, of Youngstown, Ohio, who remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.Katie M. Defonde, 33, of Butler, who remains in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.Darrell G. Strowder Jr., 33, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who remains in jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.Becky J. Zebley, 34, of Ellwood City, who remains in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.All other charges listed above were held for court.

Terrell M. McDowell

Elijah G. Alexander