Testimony will resume Friday in Allen County Common Pleas Court in the trial of Travon Thomas, 36, of Lima, charged with felony counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated funding of drug trafficking, trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in heroin.
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — The state of Ohio suffered a setback of sorts Thursday morning in the drug-trafficking trial of Travon Thomas, when a key witness suffered an apparent loss of memory.
Dewayne Wilson-Smith, a confidential informant employed by the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force and Northwest Ohio Safe Streets Task Force to conduct controlled purchases of narcotics from Thomas during April 2021, was on the witness stand Thursday morning when Assistant Allen County Prosecutor Kyle Thines became frustrated with answers he received from the informant.
Asked about various components of drug buys that revolved around Thomas, Wilson-Smith responded with answers of “I don’t remember” and “I can’t recall.”
Clearly upset with Wilson-Smith’s sudden amnesia, Thines asked Judge Terri Kohlrieser to declare the informant a hostile witness. Thines said that in earlier meetings with prosecutors, Wilson-Smith had given answers to questions that differed greatly from his responses from the witness stand.
“Frankly, his testimony today is a bit of a surprise to the state,” the prosecutor said.
Kohlrieser, outside the presence of jurors, reminded Wilson-Smith that lying under oath is a felony offense “that I don’t take lightly. I’m not saying you are lying; I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or not. I just want to remind you that you are under oath.”
Defense attorney Steve Chamberlain objected to the witness being declared “hostile.”
“I don’t know if the witness is being obtuse or if he really can’t recall these events. But the state is stuck with the witness they have,” Chamberlain said. “It would be detrimental to my client’s right to a fair trial for the state to dictate what the witness should say.”
Following that exchange, Wilson-Smith for the remainder of his time on the stand gave mostly one-word answers to Thines’ questions.
Captured on tape
Thomas faces charges that include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated funding of drug trafficking, trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in heroin. Jurors spent most of the day Thursday listening to a series of audio recordings that were captured on a listening device worn by Wilson-Smith during his participation in multiple drug transactions.
During cross-examination by Megan McLean of the Allen County Public Defenders Office, the informant admitted he never participated in a “hand-to-hand” exchange of drugs or money with Thomas. He said most of the exchanges were conducted with Sidney Jackson, a person known to conduct business for Thomas. Wilson-Smith said he did coordinate the transactions by speaking directly with Thomas by telephone.
The informant testified he was given favorable “case consideration” for a possible early release from prison on charges of possession of heroin and the aggravated possession of drugs in exchange for his cooperation. He also received $500 from the task force for participating in the controlled buys.
Thomas, 36, was arrested in Auglaize County on April 30, 2021, as part of the drug task force investigation. Task force member Evan Thomas testified Thursday that Thomas was found to be in possession of $610 in U.S. currency at the time of his arrest. The serial numbers of 17 bills matched currency used and logged during the controlled drug buys that were the basis for the investigation.
Testimony in the trial will resume Friday.
