Eight arrested in multi-county drug-trafficking bust

Eight individuals have been indicted in connection with a drug-trafficking organization operating in Ashland, Medina and Wayne counties, according to authorities.

Among the 116 total charges filed against the suspects, six individuals are accused of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity relating to the sale of heroin and cocaine, including heroin in pill form, according to a news release from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, Ashland County Prosecutor Christopher Tunnell, Ashland County Sheriff E. Wayne Risner, the Medina County Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration.

Prosecutors with the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office and Attorney General DeWine’s Special Prosecutions Section presented the case to an Ashland County grand jury on Friday, and several arrests were made Monday.

The investigation was led by investigators with the Medina County Drug Task Force, Ashland County Sheriff’s Office and DEA operating as part of an Ohio Attorney General’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission task force, the news release said.

Authorities began investigating the case after receiving information that the alleged ringleader of the operation, Richard Lawless, 48, of Polk, was trafficking drugs in the tri-county area. Authorities served multiple search warrants and conducted several controlled buys in connection with the case, uncovering heroin, cocaine, prescription drugs and marijuana with a combined estimated street value of more than $1 million. Authorities also seized cash, illegally owned guns and items used to make heroin in pill form, the news release said.

“Richard Lawless has been a menace to the area for a number of years,” Medina County Drug Task Force Director Gary Hubbard said. “The collaboration between local, state and federal authorities was paramount in the significant criminal charges that Richard Lawless and his associates are facing.”

All but one of the suspects were in custody Tuesday:

• Michael Kouns, 26, of Polk;
• Sarah Krupansky, 28, of Polk;
• David Wertman, 18, of Copley;
• James Diaz, 44, of Sullivan;
• Raymond Krupansky, 29, of Spencer;
• Vicki Stoyko, 56, of Chippewa Lake.

Hubbard said he could release no information on the final suspect.

“We’re not permitted to release their name until they’re actually been taken into custody,” he said. “The U.S. marshals are currently looking for them. There’s no real good idea where they are.”

Lawless also is facing multiple counts of felonious assault, aggravated burglary and abduction relating to crimes he allegedly committed before his arrest, the news release said.

“Heroin abuse and addiction are at epidemic levels in Ohio and across the country, and state, local and federal law enforcement are working hard to make sure traffickers don’t get away with pushing this deadly drug,” DeWine said.

“The fact that some members of this operation were not only selling heroin, but also disguising it in the form of a pill is especially concerning.”

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