COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five central Ohioans pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a narcotics conspiracy and human trafficking case, according to United States Attorney Kenneth Parker’s office.
The case was first announced by a task force in July 2022 after a federal grand jury indicted 11 people for distributing bulk amounts of fentanyl and cocaine within 1,000 feet of Burroughs Elementary School in Columbus.
In October 2022, 12 more people and 28 new charges were added to the case by the government.
Court documents say that from 2008 until June 2022, Patrick Saultz and Cordell Washington ran a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Columbus that included sex trafficking, labor trafficking, fraud and money laundering.
Parker’s office says the records detail the drug trafficking organization brought in “large quantities” of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, alprazolam and marijuana into the city.
Saultz allegedly began distributing drugs from his residences on Vida Place and South Hague Avenue in Columbus as early as 2008, according to Parker’s office. The organization allegedly sold drugs out of more than 20 homes in Columbus and distributed larger amounts to drug traffickers who then trafficked it to West Virginia and other parts of Ohio.
Those who pleaded guilty from March 13 to March 15 include:
- Tyler Bourdo, 30, of Columbus
- Priscilla Washington, 59, of Columbus
- Michael Burton, 40, of Columbus
- Gabriel Smith, 36, of Canal Winchester
- Brittany Williams, 38, of Columbus
Parker’s office says Bourdo admitted to distributing fentanyl and cocaine base that resulted in death, conspiring to commit sex trafficking and conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
According to Bourdo’s plea agreement, on Oct. 14, 2021, an individual was found dead in an alley between Bourdo’s primary home and a drug distribution house. The woman was found with a needle in her hand and another needle in her pocket and had been dead for approximately 18 hours.
As part of his plea, Bourdo admitted to coercing adult drug-addicted females into performing commercial sex acts by using violence as well as providing and then withholding or threatening to withhold narcotics and lodging.
Priscilla, who is drug ringleader Cordell’s mom, was associated with the narcotics conspiracy for several years, according to Parker’s office. She pleaded guilty to using a facility in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering, a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Burton pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
Smith pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and alprazolam within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
Williams pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 feet of an elementary school and conspiring to launder money.
Seventeen of the 23 defendants have pleaded guilty. One defendant, Carmella Brooks, has been sentenced and received a term of imprisonment of five years.
