A Lucas County drug dealer could be prosecuted for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity in neighboring Henry County based on another drug dealer’s sales of cocaine there, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.

A unanimous Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Kenneth Brown, a member of Toledo’s Tecumseh Street Gang, after finding that another gang member arranged to sell cocaine on credit to Alexandria Armijo. Armijo was caught reselling the drugs in Henry County.

Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy explained that the state law prohibiting engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity is modeled after the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. The law allows for the conviction of individuals involved in an “enterprise,” which she noted is “remarkedly open-ended.”

Even though Brown was not directly involved in the sales of cocaine in Henry County, he was a member of the enterprise, which had a drug-sale operation that extended to Henry County, the opinion stated. The Chief Justice wrote that because Armijo and Brown were members of the same enterprise, Brown could be prosecuted in Henry County, and there was sufficient evidence to “show that Armijo was associated with the Tecumseh Street Gang’s drug-selling enterprise.”

Agents Set Up Drug Buy
Brown and his nephews, Anthony and Michael Lawrence, were members of the Tecumseh Street Gang, which primarily sells cocaine in the 800 block of Tecumseh Street in Toledo. The gang is part of the Southside Gangster Disciples, a violent Toledo street gang whose members have committed murder, robbery, assaults, and other crimes.

The drug-selling activity caught the attention of law enforcement. A confidential informant told the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Brad Doolittle that Armijo was a cocaine distributor out of Lucas County and was dealing drugs for the Tecumseh Street Gang.

In 2021, Agent Dolittle set up a controlled buy between the informant and Armijo. The informant first purchased cocaine from Armijo at her Lucas County residence.

For a second buy, Armijo agreed to drive to the informant’s home in Napoleon, Henry County, to sell the informant cocaine. As part of the investigation, law enforcement observed Armijo driving from her home to Tecumseh Street and then saw her purchase cocaine from Anthony. She then went to Napoleon to sell to the informant.

Law enforcement repeated the operation a few weeks later for a third time. On a fourth controlled buy, an undercover agent sought to buy an increased amount of cocaine from Armijo in Henry County. After the sale, law enforcement coordinated with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to pull over Armijo for a traffic stop, in which they found the “buy money” from the cocaine sale.

Seller Explained Affiliation With Gang
Armijo was arrested and cooperated with law enforcement. She explained that each time she sold cocaine in Henry County, she had bought it from Anthony. She also said that Anthony would “front” her the cocaine, meaning he sold it to her on credit. Armijo would make the sale, keep $500 in profit, then pay Anthony the purchase price.

After Armijo agreed to cooperate, she returned the amount she owed him and kept the profit. Officers then observed Anthony returning to a house at 807 Tecumseh Street.

Surveillance cameras captured the daily activities on the 800 block of Tecumseh Street. The surveillance revealed Brown making many “hand-to-hand” exchanges of cocaine with buyers, along with similar sales by his nephews, as well as other gang members. Brown and his nephews started selling cocaine on the block every day, beginning as early as 8 a.m. and staying as late as 10 p.m.

Brown was ultimately arrested and charged in the Henry County Common Pleas Court with one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a violation of R.C. 2923.32(A)(1) and (B)(1).

Brown Challenged Venue of Trial
At his trial, Brown argued that the Henry County prosecutor could not establish that Henry County was the proper venue to try him. He maintained that Armijo was not part of the Tecumseh Street Gang enterprise. The jury found the venue was proper and that he was guilty of the charge.

Brown appealed to the Third District Court of Appeals, which affirmed his conviction. The Third District concluded that Anthony’s fronting of drugs to Armijo brought her into the gang’s enterprise. The gang then had a direct interest in the sale of drugs Armijo made in Henry County, and the gang was invested in the outcome of the Henry County drug sales.

Supreme Court Analyzed Venue Claim
Brown argued at the Supreme Court of Ohio that there was insufficient evidence to link Armijo’s drug-dealing activity to the gang to establish that Henry County was the proper venue to charge him with the crime. Brown argued that Armijo stated she was not a member of the Tecumseh Street Gang and that her independent purchasing of drugs and selling them did not make her a member of the same enterprise.

Chief Justice Kennedy explained that under the pattern of corrupt activity law, one way the state can prove a person was associated with an enterprise is to show the person entered into a conspiracy with a member of the enterprise.

The opinion noted that not all drug sales involve a conspiracy. A person who buys drugs from a drug seller but does not have an agreement to resell the drugs has not formed a conspiracy with the drug seller.

Citing a 1994 federal circuit court decision (United States v. Kozinski), the Court stated that when a buyer agrees with the seller to distribute the drugs that the buyer purchased, a conspiracy forms because “there is an agreement beyond the mere sale for personal consumption.”

The opinion noted other federal court decisions have determined that “fronting” drugs coupled with repeated drug purchases is sufficient to establish a conspiracy. The Court stated that the prosecution provided evidence that Armijo knew of the Tecumseh Street Gang’s drug-selling enterprise, purchased cocaine from multiple members of the gang, and had an agreement with Anthony to purchase drugs on credit for resale purposes.

Armijo made several purchases from Anthony, including one for which she made $500 in profit, the Court noted. The Court stated this “alone was enough to form a conspiracy.” The Court also stated Armijo testified she made between three and eight purchases from the gang, including from other gang members when Anthony was unavailable.

“This evidence is sufficient to show that Armijo was associated with the Tecumseh Street Gang’s drug-selling enterprise. Therefore, because Armijo was associated with the same enterprise as Brown, and because her conduct extended to Henry County, the venue for Brown’s trial was proper there,” the Court stated.

2024-0474. State v. Brown, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-2804.

View oral argument video of this case.

Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.