Zanesville man pleads not guilty to drug charges

ZANESVILLE – Wesley R. Newman has pleaded not guilty to four charges accusing him of trafficking in drugs, one with a major drug offender specification.

The 35-year-old appeared Wednesday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court to enter the plea.

He faces four counts of trafficking in cocaine, one a third-degree felony and the rest first-degree felonies. One of the first-degree charges comes with a major drug offender specification. The remaining three have a forfeiture specification attached, court records show.

Judge Mark Fleegle continued Newman’s $2 million bond. He’s an inmate at the Muskingum County jail.

Newman, of Zanesville, was arrested Sunday in Noble County after being listed on the county’s most wanted list. He was reported to be at large after evading arrest during a joint city and county drug investigation.

That investigation culminated in two drug raids at homes on Pine and Baker streets that allegedly uncovered a significant amount of drugs and cash and netted six other arrests.

Newman is the seventh suspect who has been arrested related to that investigation to plead not guilty.

elagatta@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

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Twitter: @EricLagatta