Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 11, 2026
23 Year Prison Sentence Upheld for Major Drug Offender Jason Tate
(ZANESVILLE, OH)
Jason Tate, of Zanesville, who is currently serving a twenty-three (23) year prison sentence, filed an appeal seeking to overturn his most recent convictions and sentence.
In September of 2025 Tate plead no contest to several felony level drug offenses including Trafficking in Cocaine, Aggravated Trafficking in Methamphetamine, and Having Weapons while Under Disability. At the time of sentencing the Court also found Tate guilty of being a Major Drug Offender.
Tate, 46, is currently serving his prison sentence at Noble Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison in Caldwell, Ohio.
Chris Brigdon, the attorney handling Tate’s appeal argued that Tate’s trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by “pursuing meritless suppression litigation and failed to advise the defendant to accept a favorable plea offer, resulting in the withdrawal of a twenty-year agreement and the imposition of a substantially harsher sentence”.
As part of the appeal the defendant also argued that his trial counsel was at fault for filing a suppression motion that “lacked any legal or factual foundation”, further attacking his counsel’s arguments that an issued warrant was “stale”. However, the Court of Appeals was unpersuaded by the defense’s argument and determined the defendant’s trial counsel was not of ineffective assistance.
The Appeals Court determined the sentencing court correctly applied the law in imposing the twenty-three (23) year prison sentence.
“We were confident the Court of Appeals would conclude there were no errors made during the handling of this case which would result in the convictions being overturned,” said Prosecutor Ron Welch. “Assistant Prosecutor John Litle did an excellent job prosecuting the case and assistant prosecutor Joe Palmer did an outstanding job in handling the appeal. The combination of solid law enforcement investigations, outstanding prosecution, and citizens who expect criminals to be held accountable continue to make Muskingum County a safer and better place to live. “
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