GREENVILLE — On Wednesday, a Greenville man on trial in Darke County Common Pleas Court was found guilty of drug trafficking.
A jury of eight men and five women (one alternate) deliberated approximately 45 minutes before convicting Mickel Blankenship, 54, of two fourth-degree felony counts of trafficking heroin within the vicinity of a school.
Blankenship was represented by Greenville defense attorney Dave Rohrer. Assistant Prosecutor Deborah Quigley presented the state’s case to the court.
Blankenship’s arrest was the result of an undercover drug operation conducted by the Darke County Sheriff’s Office.
On two subsequent days — Oct. 26 and 27, 2015 — Blankenship was observed selling a total of eight capsules, presumably containing heroin, to a paid informant at a Greenville residence.
A medical lab determined the capsules did not, in fact, contain heroin.
Two Darke County Sheriff’s detectives and the paid informant involved in the sting operation testified for the prosecution on Tuesday. The defendant did not testify on his own behalf.
Blankenship is scheduled to be sentenced in court December 19. He faces up to three years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines on the combined charges.
