Politics & Government

Accused Meth Traffickers Plead Guilty

The investigation that started in Lakewood ends with guilty pleas in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Before the trials for two suspected meth dealers could begin on Wednesday, both of them pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Lisa Gottshalt, 42, and Karl Dlugos, 39, both of North Olmsted, each pleaded guilty to possession of chemicals used to manufacture controlled substances and drug trafficking.

Gottshalt also pleaded guilty to charges of attempted illegal manufacture of drugs and child endangering. Children were present when Lakewood police home searched their Mastick Road in March.

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A Lakewood Police Department investigation into a drug trafficking ring ended in March with the arrest of three North Olmsted residents, accused of selling methamphetamine and other drugs from their home.

A third man, Robert Goines, 38, pleaded guilty in September to manufacturing and cultivating marijuana, and two counts of drug trafficking.

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Lakewood police carried out the investigation, because “the case originated here,” said Det. Amelio Leanza, declining to comment further. 

“I can’t give any details on the nature of the case, because they are still tied together,” he recently told Lakewood Patch.

Leanza did say that the drug-trafficking investigation began in February.

According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, the March 28 search warrant yielded the seizure of “numerous drugs” including methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, heroin and Adderall.

Police also found what appears to be a meth lab.

Ingredients and materials used in the production of and sale of methamphetamine — including Sudafed, Draino, acetone, lithium and sodium hydroxide — were also found in the Mastick Road home, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Sentencing for both Gottshalt and Dlugos is set for Jan. 24. Dlugos faces up to 10 years in prison, while Gottshalt faces up to 15-and-a-half years.


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