Man gets nine months for marijuana charge

March 20, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A Warrensville Heights man who served eight years in prison for a drunken- driving accident that killed his girlfriend is heading back there.

Luis Sanchez, 33, of Wofford Road, was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Thursday to nine months in prison for a fourth degree felony charge of trafficking in marijuana.

Sanchez was arrested March 28, 2014, on Murdock Street on the East Side off of U.S. Route 62 by troopers of the Ohio State Highway Patrol who had followed him for several miles on Interstates 80 and 680. The troopers found two gallon-sized bags of marijuana in his car, reports said.

Sanchez, who was free on bond until his sentencing Thursday, told Judge Maureen Sweeney he wants to change his perspective because of his daughter, who turned 1 last week.

“I’ve made mistakes in the past. My track record isn’t good,” Sanchez said. “But I’ve got a new outlook on life because of my daughter.”

His attorney, Robert Duffrin, said his client has struggled with drug and alcohol issues for years. Duffrin said the marijuana Sanchez was caught with was for his client’s personal use.

In October 2003, Sanchez was sentenced to eight years in prison on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide from a March 3, 2002, accident in Campbell that killed a passenger in his car, his girlfriend at the time, Keyshara Hawkins, who was 22. Police said Sanchez was legally drunk and was driving with a suspended license.

In the 2014 case, reports said Sanchez struggled with troopers who tried to arrest him and swallowed an unknown substance, claiming it was a painkiller and that he did it because he was afraid. Prosecutors could never determine what Sanchez may have swallowed so a tampering with evidence charge was dropped.

Although Sanchez is not accused of selling the marijuana, he faced a trafficking charge because of the large amount of marijuana that was found in his car.