News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Alexander to Die in Prison, Law Enforcement Seeking Next Targets

ZANESVILLE, OH –

On February 12, 2026, Justin A. Alexander and co-defendant Norman V. Whiteside were found guilty and convicted by a jury of their peers for charges that stem from a massive, state-wide in-prison drug smuggling operation that laundered its profits through a financial hub operating in Zanesville, Ohio.

The case was led by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle, and Detective Justin Bryant.

Details of the case can be found at the link on the sidebar of this release.

Jurors found Alexander and Whiteside guilty of the following counts:

1. Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity, a felony of the first degree.

2. Trafficking in Drugs, a felony of the fourth degree

3. Illegal conveyance of drugs into a prison, a felony of the third degree

4. Money laundering, a felony of the third degree.

Separately, and in addition, Justin Alexander was found guilty of the following counts:

1. Trafficking in methamphetamine, a felony of the first degree

2. Trafficking in cocaine, a felony of the first degree

3. Additional counts of illegal conveyance, felonies of the third degree

4. Conspiracy to manufacture drugs, a felony of the second degree

5. Forty counts of money laundering, felonies of the third degree

6. Trafficking and possession of “Pinaca” and “Butinaca,” schedule 1 substances

On February 23, 2026, Justin A. Alexander, 47, learned his fate after being found guilty of the above crimes. Judge Kelly Cottrill sentenced Alexander, who was previously convicted of the 2001 killing of Jason Hunter in Zanesville, then later convicted of armed home invasions. Cottrill added thirty-three years to Alexander’s current prison sentence, including $40,000 in mandatory fines.

Representing the State, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle focused on the difficulty facing the Court in sentencing a man who was caught profiting millions of dollars from selling drugs while he was already in prison.

Alexander openly acknowledged his intent to continue trafficking drugs, stating during the investigation in front of Investigator Justin Bryant, “This is what I do.”

Certainly, the Court could not follow the failed sentencing of Tonya Baird, a South African woman who profited several millions of dollars while flooding Ohio’s prisons with drugs. She was given a time-served sentence in another court – a sentence which not effective in discouraging prison drug profiteering.

Litle suggested that no proper sentence for the crime could leave Alexander with any possibility of ever leaving prison. He also announced that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections would be arranging Alexander’s transfer to an out-of-state prison system in order to thwart his drug-dealing operation.

“Arranging to have an inmate transferred out-of-state is a time-consuming and difficult undertaking,” according to Litle, adding that in this case the effort is worth the time.

“Ohio inmates should know that serving time in other states might not be nearly so comfortable as life in an Ohio prison.”

Prisoners in Ohio are able to wear clothing, shoes and accessories sent in from family members, receive books, cards, and games from outside the prison and enjoy other surprising luxuries which are not afforded prisoners in other states.

Litle had requested a prison sentence of 150 years, because many imprisoned criminals need messages they cannot avoid learning.

“Some criminals only hear what they want to hear, and this is most true for prison inmates who are still committing crimes. They never think they’ll get caught or punished, and when they hear a punishment, they assume that the real time actually served will be far less,” according to Litle.

This pathology of criminal mindset is a form of “cognitive distortion,” and it refers to a thought malfunction in the criminal mind. Career criminals like Alexander do not perceive risk the same way law-abiding people do, causing criminals to rationalize away information that challenges their mindset.

Criminally distorted brains assess risk by compartmentalizing and minimizing the negative experiences and outcomes of others, always re-writing the risk of bad outcomes to be both far more unlikely, and far less severe than reality, while amplifying the perceived positive outcomes of crime. People with these thinking errors comprise almost the entirety of individuals involved in organized crime within the prison institution.

To effectively deter career-criminal and organized-criminal activity, a sentence must break through the cognitive distortion by being so severe as to be undeniable.

“The prison-based sociopaths who must be the target of a message of deterrence in a case like this see 33 and say to themselves ‘he’ll be out in ten’,” according to Litle. “There’s no way to minimize a sentence of 150 years, which is why I believed that sentence was necessary to create a deterrent message in this case.”

While Litle asked for a longer sentence, Prosecutor Ron Welch recognized the seriousness of Alexander’s punishment.

“A prison sentence of 33 years in this case is a significant punishment. Combined with the sentences already being served by Alexander, this case effectively ensures the defendant will never breathe free air again. Hopefully, this case also sheds more light on the problems that exist in allowing inmates more and more access to the outside world. Prison is not meant to be comfortable or easy, it is a punishment for someone who cannot live lawfully amongst other citizens. Justin Alexander has repeatedly violated the law, physically harmed people, and continues to put others at risk by peddling poison. Hopefully, the result of this case makes doing those things much tougher for him in the future.”

Litle and law enforcement saw the case as a major achievement.

“This is a case of which Muskingum County residents can be proud. Our county had the ability and willingness to tackle a major, time-consuming case for which other jurisdictions simply do not have the resources,” according to Litle. “Our jury had the patience to sift through thousands of pages of finances and recordings to arrive at a just verdict.”

The case involved convicting not only the drug smugglers and drug dealers, but also sending to prison the large network of female money-handlers who enabled the trafficking operation.

The Ohio penal system is already reacting.

“Across the prison system, the outside players who handle money transactions for prison drug-dealing have taken notice and have begun refusing to process money for incarcerated drug dealers,” according to Litle. “We know, because law enforcement is listening and deciding who will be next.”

Alexander’s combined sentence is 58 years.

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