Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 30, 2026
Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years for Role in Death
ZANESVILLE, OH -
On March 23, 2026, Antonio C. Cannada, 45, admitted to Corrupting Another with Drugs, a felony of the first-degree. The charge stems from a drug overdose death that occurred in the Muskingum County Jail.
On May 8, 2024, officers in the jail discovered Dakota McCormick, 27, unresponsive on his bunk. McCormick was transported to Genesis where he died on May 10 as a result of a Fentanyl overdose.
Cannada appeared in the Muskingum Court of Common Pleas on March 23, 2026, where he was sentenced to ten (10) years in prison for providing the drugs that resulted in McCormick’s death.
The ten (10) year sentence was ordered to be served consecutively (one after the other) to the six (6) year prison sentence Cannada began serving in August of 2024 for Violating a Protection Order and Having Weapons While Under Disability, both felonies. The consecutive sentence means Cannada will have to serve 16 years.
Details of the Case:
Originally booked in May of 2024 for gun and drug related charges Cannada, over the next few days, made several outside calls to different individuals. On one of the calls Cannada speaks to an individual about putting drugs in his anus and that he needed to use the restroom before he became a “fetty [expletive]”. On other calls Cannada made false claims that his commissary was restricted and that he needed money sent to him via cash app. Financial records show that Cannada utilized Cashapp funds for the sale of drugs.
During interviews Cannada denied having drugs or supplying them to McCormick.
Cannada was searched and upon the search of his person a bag containing 0.65 grams of fentanyl dropped from the leg of his pants. Cannada continued to deny that the drugs belonged to him.
Video footage showed a hand-to-hand exchange between McCormick and Cannada. Minutes later McCormick is seen snorting drugs from a tablet and after laying down does not move again.
In March of last year, the Prosecutor’s Office published a public service announcement warning the public about illegal money transfers involving inmates.
The message remains the same:
Inmates in any jail or prison can’t legally earn money. Things like smuggling, selling drugs, or prostitution are all against the law. So, it’s illegal to send or get money from an inmate except through the jail’s official commissary system. Using apps like Cash App for this can be a serious crime called money laundering. These actions help illegal activities, like drug sales in jails. The Prosecutor’s Office stresses that people who help inmates move money this way—even if they don’t know the full story—will face aggressive investigation and charges.
In this case, some people, including McCormick’s family, sent money to Chantay Dobbins’ Cash App which funded the inmate’s drug deals. The office asks everyone to be careful and only use the jail’s approved commissary accounts for gifts to inmates. Helping with money transfers outside those accounts, even without knowing why, can get you in big legal trouble.
In 2025 Dobbins was sentenced to 1 year in prison for Money Laundering.
"Families should be able to believe that vulnerable, drug-using loved ones are at least able to be drug free while in jail,” said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John C. Dever, who handled the case. “Unfortunately, people like Antonio Canada bring deadly drugs like fentanyl into jails and deal them to vulnerable users like Dakota McCormick. Ten years reflects a fair sentence for Canada's deadly dealing and him taking responsibility for the same."
“My office is working on a draft for a new law which would allow drug dealers to be charged with murder for providing drugs that result in an overdose death,” said Prosecutor Ron Welch. “The current murder statute in Ohio is not a perfect fit for this crime. What my office is working on is similar to statutes being used in other States to hold drug dealers more accountable. Our hope is that lawmakers will quickly agree this law is necessary in making drug dealers more accountable for selling poison.”
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