Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Columbus “Waun Gang” Drug Dealer Gets Prison Time
A Columbus man was sentenced to at least seven years in prison for drug trafficking and possession.
Ke’ontez “Duh Duh” Coleman, 22, of Columbus, appeared before Muskingum County Common Pleas Judge Mark C. Fleegle on March 25 for sentencing. Coleman was charged with trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, with a firearm specification, and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
In March 2023, Coleman smuggled drugs into Genesis Hospital after being involved in a traffic accident on Interstate 70. He was caught bringing fentanyl into the hospital. Upon later investigation by law enforcement authorities, a bag and firearm belonging to Coleman were found near the scene of the crash.
Coleman was no stranger to local law enforcement, nor to Columbus police. He was a member of a Columbus Crips “set” known as the “Waun Gang,” named after Coleman’s brother Kaewaun Coleman, who was shot in 2013. Waun Gang members began showing up in Zanesville in 2015, when Deangelo “D Lo” Tellis moved the operation from the streets of Columbus to the south end of Zanesville.
Coleman initially was dealing drugs with his older brother, Kazion “Zon” Coleman, and later was part of the operations of Tellis. Coleman’s young age was one reason that he avoided being rounded up with the rest of the group in 2021.
Other gang members arrested and currently serving time in prison include Deangelo “D Lo” Tellis, Kazion “Zon” Coleman, James “D Rose” Johnson, and Trece “Trey-8” Reynolds.
A warrant for the arrest of Talik “Leek” Lee, of Columbus is still active, and others are known to be dealing drugs in the local area.
Over the past few years, numerous people became involved in the Waun Gang’s drug operations and were arrested and sentenced for their respective crimes, including Victoria Barrientos, Raymone Jackson, Tyler Kinchen, Vada McQueary, Ben Nash, and Timothy Thomas,
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle says it should be obvious that the people of Muskingum County will not tolerate criminal behavior in their community.
“It is hard to understand why any rational person would leave Columbus and choose to commit crime in Muskingum County,” Litle said. “Day in and day out, the voters and jurors of Muskingum and Franklin Counties explain their different preferences, in terms of where crime will be tolerated. Slinging poison to people is simply not tolerated in Muskingum County.”
Litle says Coleman made a big mistake when he decided to bring his drug dealing to Muskingum County.
“It’s harder still to understand why Mr. Coleman would come back here after this county has sent almost all of his friends and family to prison for doing the same thing,” Litle said. “The message must not be loud enough.”
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