United States of America v. William Hartson

Cleveland, Ohio criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Drug Trafficking

Ohio Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking

William Hartson, 26, of Massillon, Ohio, pleaded guilty to smuggling illegal drugs in checked baggage on a flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland.



On March 4, 2024, Hartson and a co-conspirator, Dalvin Rogers, 29, Cleveland, Ohio, flew together from Los Angeles to Cleveland. A law enforcement canine alerted airport security personnel to the presence of controlled substances on checked baggage belonging to Hartson and Rogers. After the two men retrieved their luggage, they proceeded to leave the baggage claim area and were encountered by federal agents. The agents received verbal consent to search their luggage and found several bricks of suspected drugs wrapped in wet towels. A field test conducted by the agents confirmed the substances were cocaine. The drugs weighed in at approximately 7.63 kilograms, or nearly 17 pounds, with a street value of more than $175,000.



Hartson's co-defendant was previously sentenced. Rogers was sentenced Aug. 29, 2024, to 63 months in prison and four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.



This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Investigations (DHS-HSI) with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.



This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi­-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.



The specific mission of the OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Northern District of Ohio. The OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is composed of agents and officers from the FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, USMS, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service, and USBP, along with task force officers from numerous local law enforcement agencies, including the Cleveland Division of Police. Prosecutions are led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.



The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret A. Sweeney for the Northern District of Ohio.