Woman gets probation in drug-trafficking case

By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Sharon Boone, a Champion woman whose house was raided by police after a yearlong drug investigation, was sentenced to five years of probation Tuesday for her role in a trafficking enterprise.
The investigation involved her and members of her family.
Boone, 47, of 5339 Pierce Road, was ordered to stay away from illegal drugs, pay 7,500 in lieu of forfeiting real estate involved in the drug trade, and pay a 7,500 fine.
She has to verify employment, voluntarily divest herself of all real estate in Trumbull County during her probation, and give up her driver's license for six months.
She received her sentence in the courtroom of Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
She and her son, Robert Boone, 26, of the Pierce Road address, were also required to sign off on forfeiture of items that officers found in the house during the raid: 18,800 in cash found in a safe, a handgun and other items. Some 5,000 of the money had been paid to the Boones by undercover agents working for the Trumbull, Ashtabula and Geauga Law Enforcement Task Force.
About that Escalade
The two previously also agreed to turn over a Cadillac Escalade that was confiscated, but prosecutors determined the value of the vehicle was less than the loan on it, so that forfeiture was dropped, said Chuck Morrow, an assistant county prosecutor.
Sharon Boone pleaded guilty last month to complicity to trafficking in marijuana and permitting drug abuse.
Robert Boone, considered the main player in the drug enterprise, was convicted in January on seven charges, including marijuana trafficking and possession, and attempting to engage in a pattern of corrupt activity. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Morrow said Robert Boone was selling marijuana in bulk amounts. The value of the drugs confiscated would have been between 34,000 and 68,000.
Task force members either bought or made down payment on 34 pounds of marijuana from Robert Boone in three separate buys in 2005, Morrow said.
Five associates of the Boones were also charged in the enterprise, which operated primarily in central Trumbull County. Two still have pending cases.
The group investigated by TAG was dubbed the investigation Operation Green Tree. Task force members determined during the investigation that they were interrupting small criminal groups, or branches, with multiple ties to the Boone family.
runyan@vindy.com