Defendant rejects plea offer

BY JD LONG jim@harrisonnewsherald.com

CADIZ—Harrison County’s Common Pleas courtroom had several defendants not see their cases make it on record Tuesday, but one appeared via video conference to reject the state’s offer and settle his case.

The 28-year-old Michael A. Moreland of Uhrichsville is facing two cases, one carrying over from last year. The 2020 case involves a possession charge of fentanyl, a fourth-degree felony. Moreland’s three 2021 charges include two for aggravated trafficking in drugs and one for aggravated possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony. The two trafficking charges are third- and fourth-degree felonies.

Harrison County prosecutor Lauren Knight offered Moreland 30 months of prison with the opportunity for judicial release short of the full sentence. But Moreland rejected that offer and chose to send his case to a jury trial. No date has been set, but it’s expected to take place sometime in November.

One defendant who did not appear on the record was the 24-year-old Christian Bishop of Adena, who is facing several charges: failure to comply (F3), two tampering with evidence charges (both F3), and a misdemeanor charge of falsification.

The other case involved 25-year-old Auston Ford of Canton, and he faces a third-degree felony vehicular assault charge. Neither case was able to advance beyond pretrial conferences.