Perry County grand jury indicts 2 men in drug cases

PERRY COUNTY— A Perry County Grand Jury has indicted two men on drug charges in separate cases.

Marcus A. Isham and Melvin Corbett were both indicted last week on charges alleging they trafficked drugs around the county.

Ishah, 27, of New Lexington, was indicted on a suspicion of complicity to aggravated possession of heroin, a first-degree felony.

That charge includes a specification alleging the Isham is a major drug offender.

He also was indicted on a suspicion of trafficking in heroin, a fourth-degree felony, and possession of prescription drugs, a fifth-degree felony.

Isham is accused of illegally distributing and possessing more than nine and a half ounces of heroin between May 2013 and November 2014 in Perry County and surrounding counties, according to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.

He is an inmate at the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail in Nelsonville. Isham faces 25 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Corbett, 60, of Newark, was indicted on a single charged of aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine, a second-degree felony with a forfeiture specification.

Corbett is accused of bringing more than an ounce of methamphetamine from Licking County into New Lexington in March and distributing it.

Corbett was arrested by agents with the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force at his home in Newark on Aug. 18 after charges were filed in the case. If convicted, Corbett could face up to 10 years in prison.

Both Corbett and Isham will be arraigned at a later date.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office have seized more than $86,000 in illegal drugs since January in Perry County. They’ve seized another $24,000 in cash from drug offenders.

To report drug activity in Perry County, contact the sheriff’s office’s crime tip line at 740-342-4123, extension 302.

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