The Sandusky County Drug Task Force seized suspected fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, four firearms, a Glock switch and cash while serving two residential search warrants in Fremont on Wednesday, October 21, according to a task force press release reported by the Fostoria Free Press and the Fremont News-Messenger.
The warrants were served at 1217 Croghan Street and 500 Bidwell Avenue in Fremont, the two outlets reported from the task force release. The task force described the work as part of ongoing efforts to combat illegal drug activity, according to the Fostoria Free Press, and it was joined by local and federal partners in both searches.
At the Croghan Street address, agents recovered an unknown white powder that had not been identified when the release was issued, U.S. currency and a firearm, according to the task force release reported by the Fostoria Free Press. The occupant, Howard Chapman, was arrested on an outstanding warrant out of Erie County, the outlets reported, and the release did not say what that warrant was for or that Chapman had been charged in connection with the searches.
At 500 Bidwell Avenue, agents recovered suspected cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine, three firearms, a Glock switch and U.S. currency, according to the task force release. The Fremont News-Messenger reported that the firearms and drugs were sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for identification and testing, and that no injuries were reported in either search.
Drug Task Force Commander Dean Bliss, who signed the release, told the Fremont News-Messenger that no arrests have been made in relation to the Bidwell Avenue search. “Several people were there, hopefully there will be an indictment, but no one was arrested because this is still under investigation,” Bliss told the Fremont News-Messenger.
Bliss also explained the conversion device to the Fremont News-Messenger, saying a Glock switch can make a Glock more like an automatic firearm, and that the three firearms found at Bidwell Avenue were a Glock, an AR-style pistol and a regular handgun. The Fostoria Free Press, citing the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, noted that a conversion device on its own is considered a machine gun under federal law.
Assisting the task force were the Fremont Police Department, the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office, the Ottawa County Major Crimes Unit, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to the task force release. Both cases will be presented to the Sandusky County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for grand jury consideration, the outlets reported, and no charges from the warrants themselves have been announced.
The task force is led by Commander Dean A. Bliss and administered by Sandusky County Prosecutor Beth Tischler, according to the Fostoria Free Press. Anyone with information about suspected drug activity can contact the Sandusky County Drug Task Force at 419-334-5918, the release said, and anyone arrested or charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.