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Man Pleads Innocent In Athens County To Possessing 198 Grams Of Cocaine
By: Susan Tebben | The Athens Messenger
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A North Carolina man pleaded innocent to drug charges involving a traffic stop where nearly 200 grams of cocaine were allegedly found.
Kimari Anderson, 35, of Charlotte, N.C., appeared in Athens County Common Pleas Court to be arraigned on one count of possession of cocaine and one count of trafficking in cocaine, both first-degree felonies.
The charges also have major drug offender specifications.
"That means the court must sentence the offender to the maximum sentence," said Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn. The maximum for each charge is 11 years.
Anderson was stopped by the Ohio State Highway Patrol on Nov. 7 during a routine traffic stop. When troopers searched the car Anderson had been driving, they allegedly found 198 grams of suspected cocaine.
Judge L. Alan Goldsberry set bond at $60,000, and should Anderson pay the 10 percent allowed, she must stay in Ohio during the duration of the case. The prosecution had asked for $50,000 as bond.
A jury trial has been set for Jan. 7, 2014.