Woman gets year in prison for selling pills

Published 10:39 am Thursday, April 10, 2014

An Ironton woman who recently admitted selling prescription drugs out of her home was sentenced to prison Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Lori Knipp, 49, of 2615 S. Fifth St., Ironton, previously pleaded guilty to two fifth-degree counts of permitting drug abuse, a fourth-degree count of trafficking in drugs and a fifth-degree count of possession of drugs.

Judge Charles Cooper handed down the one-year prison sentence, as well as ordered the woman to forfeit $7,543 in cash that was seized during her arrest in February.

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Knipp was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and her driver’s license was suspended for a year.

Knipp, as well as Billy J. Barnett, 38, of the same address, was arrested in February following an investigation by the Lawrence Drug and Major Crimes Task Force.

Barnett’s case is still pending in common pleas court.

In other cases:

• Michael Harris, 25, of 204 Fourth St. W. Apt. 8, South Point, was arraigned on a bill of information of two fifth-degree counts of breaking and entering of Leo’s Carryout, to which he pleaded guilty.

Cooper sentenced the man to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution.

“I’m sorry,” Harris said. “I was on drugs when I did it. I wasn’t in the right state of mind.”

• Leo Ulery, 20, of 3045 County Road 52, Willow Wood, was sentenced to four years community control sanctions under intensive supervised probation, STAR and $9,700 in restitution to his mother and stepfather. Ulery previously pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree count of theft of a bank card.

Cooper reserved 17 months in prison if Ulery should violate any of the conditions of his probation.

“You’ve got one foot in the state penitentiary and one foot on a banana peel,” Cooper said, warning the man to stay out of trouble during his probation.

• Mark Crank, 27, of 95 Private Drive 3093, Ironton, admitted CCS violations and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

• David Woodyard, 39, of 213 Township Road 1163, Proctorville, pleaded guilty to four fifth-degree counts of forgery and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

• Adam Crown, 39, of 74 Private Drive 6510, Kitts Hill, was arraigned on a second-degree count of aggravated arson, to which he pleaded not guilty. Cooper set bond at $50,000 cash or surety or $100,000 property plus a $10,000 own-recognizance bond and GPS monitoring.

• Garrett Spurlock, 22, of 3161 A. Howells Mills Road, Ona, W.Va., was sentenced to four years CCS/IPS for a third-degree count of illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs, to which he previously pleaded guilty.

Cooper also sentenced the man to STAR, a $5,000 fine, a six-month driver’s license suspension and reserved three years in prison if he violates his probation.

• Michael Stormes, 44, of 459 State Route 243, Ironton, pleaded guilty to counts of second-degree burglary and fourth-degree theft. Cooper sentenced the man to four years in prison.

• Jack Cremeans, 29, of 2615 S. Fifth St., Ironton, pleaded guilty to a fifth-degree count of theft. Cooper ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing for April 16.