Brandy J. Miller, age 32, of Gallipolis, Ohio, was sentenced to a thirty-four-year prison term on Monday, April 23, 2019, by Judge D. Dean Evans, sitting by assignment, in the Gallia County Common Pleas Court.
On April 24, 2018, Miller was convicted of a host of criminal charges, including:
1. Possession of Heroin, a felony of the first degree, with specification as Major Drug Offender;
2. Trafficking in Heroin, a felony of the first degree, with specification as Major Drug Offender;
3. Tampering with Evidence, a felony of the third degree;
4. Aggravated Possession of Drugs, a felony of the second degree;
5. Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs, a felony of the second degree;
6. Aggravated Possession of Drugs, a felony of the third degree;
7. Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs, a felony of the third degree;
8. Tampering with Evidence, a felony of the third degree;
9. Illegal Conveyance of Drugs, a felony of the third degree;
10. Weapons while under Disability, a felony of the third degree;
11. Engaging in a pattern of Corrupt Activity, a felony of the first degree.
On April 18, 2017 Sgt. Delmer Hurd of the Ohio State Highway Patrol initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Miller on State Route 850 in Bidwell, Ohio. Lt. Davies and K-9 Smilla were deployed and alerted on the vehicle. Miller had drugs concealed inside of her body. While in the backseat of the cruiser, Miller retrieved the drugs that were packaged in two condoms, and attempted to conceal them in the cruiser. The condoms were found to contain over 153 grams of Heroin and Carfentanil. Thereafter, Miller was charged with several felonies.
On November 21, 2017, while on bond in the prior case, Miller was again stopped by a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol at the CVS in Gallia County. A K-9 with the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office alerted to the vehicle. Based on the investigation, officers believed that Miller was once again concealing narcotics inside of her body. A search warrant was obtained and Miller was transported to Holzer Medical Center to be searched. Two condoms were located on Miller’s person, one containing 27.13 grams of Methamphetamine and the other containing 42.22 grams of Fentanyl. Once again, Miller was charged with several additional felonies.
Following Miller’s convictions on April 24, 2018, Miller posted bond prior to sentencing and was placed on electronic monitoring. Thereafter, Miller cut the monitor from her ankle and fled the area. After being on the run for almost one year, Miller was apprehended in Columbus, Ohio and brought back to Gallia County. Miller filed a motion to withdraw her guilty pleas, but that motion was denied by Judge Evans.
“Due to the collaboration of numerous law enforcement agencies and countless hours spent on these cases, a major drug supplier to Gallia County has been successfully prosecuted and sentenced,” stated Gallia County Prosecutor, Jason Holdren. “On these two dates, Miller was stopped from bringing over 2,200 doses of deadly narcotics into Gallia County. Heroin, Fentanyl, Carfentanil, and Methamphetamine have ravaged our community and resulted in numerous overdose deaths. It is our hope that this sentence will continue to send a message that trafficking in narcotics in Gallia County will not be tolerated and dealers will be held accountable for their actions. I would like to thank all agencies that had a part in this case, specifically: The Ohio State Highway Patrol, Village of Rio Grande Police Department, Gallia County Sheriff’s Office, Gallipolis Police Department, Gallia-Meigs Major Crimes Task Force, and the United States Marshal Service.”
