Drug charge earns Yates prison term

By Jane Beathard

Staff Writer

A former West Jefferson man will spend the next year-and-a-half in prison for selling heroin on March 13, following Thursday’s sentencing in Madison County Common Pleas Court.

Timothy C. Yates, 25, who now gives a New Vienna address, pleaded guilty in August to a single count of drug trafficking — a fifth-degree felony that usually earns a probationary sentence.

However, a pre-sentence investigation showed Yates is on parole for a Franklin County robbery in 2006. Under Ohio’s current sentencing guidelines, the drug-dealing conviction warranted prison time, as well as additional time behind bars for the robbery.

Defense attorney Thomas Arrington said Yates is a heroin addict who is trying to remain drug free. He asked Judge Robert D. Nichols to extend Yates’ parole, allowing the man additional time to address his addiction.

But Nichols noted Yates’ prior attempts at drug treatment, including a stint at the West Central Community Correctional Facility, failed.

“He’s been through every meaningful program,” Nichols said.

Nichols sentenced Yates to a year in prison for the parole violation and an additional six months for dealing heroin.

Also on Thursday, Kimberly A. Pilkington, 50, 3527 Densmore Castle Drive, Columbus, pleaded guilty to driving drunk on Jan. 1. The charge is a fourth-degree felony since Pilkington’s record includes three drunk-driving convictions within the last six years.

However, assistant county prosecutor Eamon Costello agreed to re-word the indictment, reducing the amount of alcohol Pilkington had in her system at the time she was stopped by a trooper from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The new wording means Pilkington could spend as few as 60 days behind bars or as much as 30 months in prison.

Defense attorney Scott Shaw had challenged the results of Pilkington’s blood-alcohol test, administered at the patrol’s West Jefferson post, following her arrest. Shaw charged troopers failed to follow correct procedures during the urine test.

Thursday’s scheduled hearing to throw out those test results was cancelled when Pilkington opted to plead guilty.

Nichols ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing for Dec. 10.

Shaw indicated he may appeal any sentence.