Twenty-two pounds of cocaine, 15 guns, 11 cars and more than $100,000 in cash were unexpectedly confiscated by police during a massive July raid in Oberlin and Elyria that resulted in nine arrests.
Henry A. Smith Jr., also known as “Big Henry,” has been indicted on one count of racketeering, two counts of selling cocaine, two counts of preparing cocaine for sale and two counts of possessing a bulk amount of cocaine for sale.
Smith, 32, has long been considered one of the most important drug dealers in the area, according to law enforcement officials.
“This kind of operation is unprecedented in Oberlin,” Oberlin Police Chief Michael Moorman said. “Twenty-two pounds of cocaine is about enough to fill a large duffel bag, about $750,000 dollars worth. That’s probably just one of his shipments over the years. His sales per week were five figures.”
“Mr. Henry was causing us all heart problems,” Elyria Police Chief Michael Medders said. “We’d developed a case on him a year ago. Most of the cases we’ve been working on seem to focus back on him as being the supplier. Everything kept pointing back towards this individual.”
Smith is now being held at the Lorain County Jail on a $2 million bond after pleading not guilty at his arraignment in the Lorain County courthouse. If convicted he faces a minimum 11 years in prison and up to 144 years. The location of the arrest — a private residence on East College St., directly across from Eastwood Elementary School — may exacerbate the charges.
Six other locations in Oberlin and Elyria were part of the raid, including Polished Records at 51 South Main.
John J. Johnson, thought by police to be either Smith’s supplier or courier from Chicago, is also being held on a $2 million bond.
“I’m not sure I could say who’s the bigger catch,” Medders said. “The investigation is still underway.”
Smith’s mother, Myrna Smith, 65, was released after posting a $10,000 bond. She is charged with one count of permitting drug abuse.
Despite the success of the operation, local authorities are pessimistic on the possibilities of cleaning up Lorain County’s drug problem — which they say is extensive.
“It’s like a gas station going out of business,” Moorman said. “People are still going to be buying gas. My whole department could do nothing but drugs 24/7 and still not solve the problem. We’re here to make it as unpleasant for the drug dealers as possible.”
“Someone else is going to fill his spot here,” Medders speculated. “Temporarily, prices will go up — that’s the normal laws of supply and demand. Someone will eventually step in. Somebody’s probably trying to take over the area even as we’re speaking.”
Both Medders and Moorman declined to comment on whether Oberlin students might have been part of Smith’s clientele.
Officials emphasized, however, that the location of the bust doesn’t mean Oberlin’s drug problem is large compared to the surrounding area, or that Lorain County is exceptional for Northern Ohio.
“[The drug problem] is excessive in all the counties around here,” Director of Adult Outpatient Services at the Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Vesta Warner said. “Lorain’s is not more or less so than other counties. We have an abundance of people here [at the LCADAS] — there’s a waiting list.”
LCADAS holds four intensive outpatient treatments every evening with 10 patients per group.
As a result of the raid, the number of cocaine addicts seeking treatment will probably increase temporarily as the supply on the street decreases, Warner said.
Even so, she noted, the number of heroin users seems to be increasing in the area over the last year and may take up the slack.