How One Motion Ended a Mandatory Prison Case in Hamilton County

A felony fentanyl charge in Ohio can carry mandatory prison time. The judge cannot offer probation, treatment, or a suspended sentence. If the State proves the charge, the prison doors open.

One of our clients faced exactly that in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Police said he had a bulk amount of fentanyl, which made the charge a felony of the second degree and carried a mandatory two to eight years in prison.

We never argued about the drugs. We argued about the traffic stop that led police to them. The judge agreed, threw out the evidence, and dismissed the case. Our client walked out a free man.

The Case at a Glance

• Court: Hamilton County Common Pleas Court
• Charge: Possession of fentanyl, felony of the second degree
• Exposure: Two to eight years in prison, mandatory
• Strategy: Motion to suppress all evidence from the traffic stop
• Result: Motion granted, case dismissed

What a Felony 2 Fentanyl Charge Means

In Ohio, the weight of the drug drives the level of the charge. A small amount might leave room for treatment or probation. Once the amount crosses into what the law calls a bulk amount, the charge climbs fast and the sentencing rules tighten around the judge’s hands. Prosecutors know this, and it gives them leverage in plea talks. Many people hear that number, two to eight years, and decide fighting is hopeless.

A conviction also follows a person for life. Employers and landlords run background checks, professional licenses disappear, immigration status can collapse, and firearm rights end for good.

So the real question is not how much time the State can seek. The question is whether the State can prove anything at all, and that often has nothing to do with the drugs and everything to do with how police found them.

The Stop Came First. Everything Else Came Second.

Police cannot pull over a car on a hunch. Officers need a real, specific reason, such as a traffic violation they actually saw. That rule comes from the Fourth Amendment, and it applies on every street in Ohio.

Courts do not judge a stop by what officers find afterward. A stop is either lawful the moment it happens or it is not. Finding drugs cannot go back in time and fix a stop that broke the rules. When a judge decides police crossed the line, that evidence comes off the table. In a possession case, the drugs are the case.

Common Problems With Traffic Stops

• No lawful reason to stop the car in the first place
• A stop that dragged on far longer than the reason for it justified
• A search with no warrant, no consent, and no exception that allows one
• A drug dog brought in after the traffic business had already wrapped up
• Testimony that does not match the cruiser video or the written report

How a Motion to Suppress Works

A motion to suppress asks the judge to block evidence the government gathered illegally. It is not a technicality. It is a hearing where police testimony finally meets hard questions.

We requested everything the State had: reports, dispatch records, and video. Then we asked the court to throw out all evidence from the stop. At the hearing, the officers took the stand and gave their version of events. We cross-examined them on what they saw before the stop, when they saw it, why they kept our client there, and how the search unfolded. A timeline that does not hold together can decide a case.

The judge granted our motion. With no evidence left, the prosecution had nothing to take to trial. No plea. No conviction. No prison.

Why Early Moves Decide Serious Cases

Motions to suppress come with deadlines, and video gets overwritten. A lawyer who opens the file a week before trial has already lost the chance to build this kind of challenge. If police stopped, searched, or questioned you, protect yourself now:

• Say nothing about the case to police, cellmates, or anyone on a jail phone
• Write down what you remember while it stays fresh, especially the timeline
• Keep every document you received, including any citation or property receipt
• Call a criminal defense lawyer immediately, before your first court date

Every case turns on its own facts, and no lawyer can promise a specific outcome. A charge that looked unwinnable ended in a dismissal because someone questioned how it began.

Talk to Moermond & Mulligan, LLC First

Prosecutors count on people giving up when they hear the words mandatory prison. Our clients do not give up, because we get in early, take police work apart, and force the State to answer for how it built the case. Brad Moermond spent years as a prosecutor and knows how the other side thinks. Founding partner L. Patrick Mulligan has tried hundreds of cases with everything on the line.

Call our Cincinnati or Dayton office at (513) 421-9790, or fill out our online contact form to schedule your free consultation.