The Ohio University student linked to a drug ring involving former OU football players pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday.
Cory Bohache, 21, was arrested Tuesday by investigators from the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office and the Athens Police Department. The two agencies worked with the OU Police Department in a joint operation during the investigation.
Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn has called the case “one of the largest” in Athens city and county history.
Bohache, a senior studying finance and accounting, is facing an indictment charging one count of trafficking in cocaine, one count of trafficking in marijuana and one count of possession of cocaine. He could face a maximum of 15-and-a-half years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $10,000.
At the arraignment, Blackburn, representing the state, said this case was “an undercover drug buy between $1,600 and $1,800” in which Bohache sold about 29 grams of cocaine and more than 14 grams of marijuana to a confidential informant.
Judge L. Alan Goldsberry, filling in for Judge George P. McCarthy, the permanent judge for the case, granted Bohache a $300,000 bond with 10 percent allowed, which Blackburn said essentially sets a $30,000 bond.
“We’re happy with the bond,” Blackburn said, though the state originally requested it to be set at $100,000.
The drug bust is “absolutely part of a bigger drug organization” that involves former OU football players Lorenzo Fisher and Greg Windham, Blackburn said.
Windham, 20, accepted a plea deal Sept. 23 in which he pleaded guilty to his drug charges in order to enter a diversion program rather than face incarceration. Fisher, 22, pleaded guilty Jan. 23 and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Mar. 24, according to court documents.
Blackburn added that Bohache was a former bartender at an Athens bar, and he believes that there are other bartenders involved in the drug ring. However, he declined to release the name of the establishment to protect the owner’s reputation.
“(Bohache) is 21 and has made a decision that will affect him for the rest of his life,” Blackburn said, adding that he is confident there are more students selling drugs in Athens who have yet to be caught.
Claire “Buzz” Ball, Bohache’s attorney, said that considering the investigation began in the middle of January and Bohache remained in Athens, the defendant is “not a flight risk.”
Blackburn also stated during the arraignment that Bohache confessed to selling drugs to one person out of his 20 N. Congress St. residence, which is located within 1,000 feet of Athens Middle School.
In addition to what was sold to a confidential informant, a search warrant of Bohache’s residence found an additional 27 grams of cocaine, according to a news release from Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn’s office. Testing from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification confirmed that the drugs involved were cocaine and marijuana.
Blackburn said if investigators had found 28 grams of cocaine or more, the felony would have been more severe. He added that cocaine is “pretty close to the top” of the food chain of drugs in the county.
Although his office had dealt with cases involving a larger quantity of drugs, Blackburn said this case is still a “huge undertaking.”
Bohache, currently incarcerated in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, is scheduled to appear in court again Mar. 26. The jury trial is set for May 6.
@Kellypfisher
kf398711@ohiou.edu
This article originally ran in print under the headline "Student pleads not guilty on drug bust"
