Ron Welch
Muskingum County Prosecutor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 6, 2026
Man Convicted by Jury of Drug Trafficking, Possession
ZANESVILLE – Repeat drug offender Chaise King was convicted Tuesday of numerous counts of drug trafficking and possession after a one-day trial prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Lucas Howard.
The jury convicted King on all charges, including Trafficking and Possession of Fentanyl, a third-degree felony, Trafficking and Possession of Methamphetamine, a second-degree felony, Trafficking and Possession of Buprenorphine with a prior offense, a felony of the fifth degree, and Trafficking and Possession of Cocaine, a felony of the fifth degree.
Buprenorphine is an opioid drug of abuse known as “Suboxone” and marketed as a method to recover from drug addiction. Like methadone and other “medically assisted treatments” for opioid addiction, when an addict depends upon suboxone, the dependency is often even stronger than their original dependency upon the illicit drug from which they are trying to break free.
King faces thirteen (13) years of prison for these charges at his sentencing, which is to be held at a later date. He faces additional time related to his status on post-release control from a 2018 conviction for possession of a large quantity of drugs for which he served 6 mandatory years in prison.
Facts of the Case:
Muskingum County deputies Alice and Simon participated in a traffic stop involving King and two other individuals in January of 2025. Prior to the stop deputies observed King who was in the back seat reaching around on the floorboards prior to the deputies approaching.
The deputies testified that the driver and front seat passenger had picked up King to buy drugs from him. A container of drugs was located in the rear of the vehicle where deputies observed King sitting during to the stop. They also noticed him moving suspiciously. During a search of the area where King was sitting, deputies found scales and a fake gun. Scales are an item frequently found on drug traffickers and drug users.
During the trial the jury heard from one of the vehicle’s occupants, who is now in successful recovery from drug addiction, concerning the events of that night.
“Drug possession cases involving multiple people in a car can sometimes be challenging because everyone tries to blame someone else for having the drugs, but this case was well investigated by law enforcement and well presented by Assistant Prosecutor Lucas Howard,” said Prosecutor Welch.
"Deputy Alice and Deputy Simon each did an excellent job when writing their reports related to the traffic stop in this case,” said APA Lucas Howard. “They were able to provide testimony about those details to the jury, who in turn considered the evidence presented to them and delivered a guilty verdict on all counts."
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