Press Release

Logan County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kevin P. Braig today sentenced Audric D. Clay to a maximum prison sentence of 12.5 to 18 years on convictions of possession of cocaine, a felony of the first degree, trafficking in cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree, and carrying a concealed weapon, a felony of the fourth degree.
 
Logan County Assistant Prosecutor Erin Rosen represented the State of Ohio at the hearing. On behalf of the State, she recommended a 10-year prison sentence. Defense counsel Griff Nowicki of Dayton, Ohio, recommended a sentence of 5-to-7 years.
 
On October 19, 2023, Logan County Sheriff’s Office deputies pursued Clay as he fled in a motor vehicle. During the pursuit, Clay threw almost 100 grams of cocaine and almost 14-grams of xylazine/fentanyl from his motor vehicle. DNA on a backpack that contained the drugs was consistent with Clay’s DNA. Clay’s vehicle came to rest in a cornfield and Clay fled on foot, evading officers.
 
According to the pre-sentence investigation report, officers also recovered a 9 mm Taurus handgun that Clay threw from the vehicle and a loaded 9 mm Helwan firearm that was found inside the vehicle.
 
“The facts in this case are almost identical to the facts of some of the most serious possession and trafficking cases that have come before this Court during the past five years,” Judge Braig told Clay. “Your criminal history is also extensive. You have left the Court no choice but to impose the stiffest penalty it is permitted to impose under Ohio law.”