Lorain man appealing 1-year sentence in drug case

A 40-year-old Lorain man could spend one year behind bars on a firearm violation and three years of community control for drug charges.

Problems began for Jason P. Taylor, of Meister Road, during a traffic stop Nov. 3, 2016, when officers say they found a variety drugs and a firearm on him.

After police finished their investigation, Taylor was indicted on charges of carrying concealed weapons, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, trafficking in drugs, possessing criminal tools, possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Taylor pleaded guilty to the charges, but argued he was not guilty of a pair of firearm specifications attached to those charges.

One specification carries a sentence of one year in prison and the other carried a sentence of three years in prison.

During a bench trial in March, Lorain County Common Court Judge Mark A. Betleski ruled Taylor was guilty of the one-year specification and not guilty of the three-year specification.

Betleski sentenced Taylor on May 7 to the one year in jail and three years of community control.

According to court personnel, Taylor is free on $50,000 appeal bond while he appeals Betleski’s ruling on the firearm specification with his personally retained counsel.

While he awaits a ruling on the appeal, Taylor will be required to meet with the Lorain County Adult Parole Authority to ensure he fulfills the requirements of his community control sanction.

According to a police report on Taylor’s initial arrest, he was stopped in the Burger King parking lot, 2224 Leavitt Road, after he was observed cutting an officer off and avoiding a traffic light by traveling through a parking lot on Leavitt Road.

A search of Taylor’s car turned up a large plastic bag containing marijuana and two pieces of paper containing a brown powder was found in the overhead console. Police said they also recovered from inside the vehicle a 9 mm Smith & Wesson pistol, a magazine with seven live rounds, empty plastic bags, a digital scale with brown power residue and two small bags containing a brown power substance, according to the report.

Police also found a plastic bag containing a “large amount” of a brown powder, rock-like substance, a plastic bag containing a smaller amount of the same substance and a third plastic bag with eight smaller plastic bag, believed to be pre-packaged for sale, was located in a leather zipper pouch in Taylor’s pants pocket, the report said.

The brown powder substance field tested positive for fentanyl, according to the report. Two cellphones and $1,098.37 in cash also were seized.

Taylor