Sandusky Man Found Guilty of Corrupting Another with Drugs and Trafficking in Fentanyl in Marion County Court

A jury on Thursday found Joseph Bernard Smith of Sandusky, Ohio, guilty of corrupting another with drugs, a second-degree felony, and trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, a fifth-degree felony for supplying Daniel Griffith with pills that contained fentanyl. After obtaining the pills, Griffith overdosed from a lethal drug mixture which contained fentanyl.

The case stemmed from a transaction where Smith sold Griffith what appeared to be Percocet pills (which were surreptitiously laced with fentanyl) at a Sandusky gas station on June 18, 2022. Griffith then returned to his residence on Jefferson Street in Marion, where his girlfriend later discovered his body, sparking an investigation that exposed Smith’s role in the deal arranged via phone calls and texts days before.

Grogan assigned Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Parker Schwartz and John Scott to present the case before Judge Matthew Frericks, presenting surveillance video from the gas station showing the exchange, along with texts and calls recovered from Griffith’s phone by MARMET detectives.

The investigation, led by Marion, Ohio Police Department Det. Matt Baldridge, revealed Griffith and his girlfriend traveled to Sandusky for the buy, where Smith delivered blue pills mimicking Percocet but containing fentanyl to Griffith.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost – BCI analyst Kristin Canfield confirmed the fentanyl, while Lucas County Coroner Dr. Thomas Blomquist performed the autopsy. Marion Police Officers Dylan Kelley, Matt Creps, Matt Baldridge, and Marion County Sheriff’s Office Marion,OH Dep. Keith Griffin testified to their roles.

“This conviction strikes at the heart of the fentanyl crisis that we are facing; a crisis that is killing our residents,” Grogan said. “Smith peddled poison disguised as painkillers, and we held him accountable.”

The verdicts underscore Grogan’s battle against drug traffickers, with Smith remanded into custody pending sentencing on a date yet to be set. “No family should endure this nightmare, but today’s outcome delivers justice for Daniel Griffith,” Grogan said. “We’ll keep fighting to purge these dealers from our streets.”