By Wayne Gates –

Accused heroin dealer Gary Schmid was indicted on multiple felony counts on February 23 by a Brown County Grand Jury.
He remains in the Brown County Jail under a $750,000 bond following a February 27 arraignment before Common Pleas Judge Scott Gusweiler.
Schmid is charged with ten counts, including a first degree felony charge of Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity.  His other charges include two counts of Trafficking in Heroin and one count of Possession of Heroin, both second degree felonies.
He is also faces felony charges of Tampering With Evidence, Having Weapons While Under Disability which are both third degree felonies, a fourth degree felony count of Trafficking in Drugs, two counts of Aggravated Possession of Drugs, and Permitting Drug Abuse, all fifth degree felonies.
Schmid also had $59,920 in cash seized by investigators, along with four handguns and two cars, a BMW and an Audi.
Brown County Drug and Major Crimes Task Force Commander John Burke said in the February 19 edition of The Brown County Press that Schmid was responsible for 80 to 90 percent of the heroin traffic in Brown County, moving millions of dollars worth of drugs per year.
Burke said that when Schmid was busted by the Warren County SWAT team, he flushed 18 ounces of heroin down the toilet with a street value of about $50,000.
Schmid’s live-in girlfriend was also indicted on nine felony charges on February 23, including a first degree felony count of Aggravated Funding of Drug Trafficking, a first degree felony.
She also faces a first degree felony charge of  Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activity and three second degree felony counts.  Two of those counts are Trafficking in Heroin and one count is Possession of Heroin.
She also faces a third degree felony county of Tampering With Evidence and  fifth degree felony counts of Aggravated Possession of Drugs (two counts) and one count of Permitting Drug Abuse.
Chancellor is being held in the Brown County Jail on a $150,000 bond.
Burke said that Chancellor bears as much responsibility for drug dealing activity as Schmid.
“She’s his live-in girlfriend.  She had a job and she was funding things like the residence, the vehicles, everything that would be consistent with aiding and abetting drug trafficking.  She was certainly aware of it and that’s where the funding charge comes from,” Burke said.
“In order to run this operation, you need a place to operate out of.  She provided all of those things that he could not provide because he doesn’t have a job other than being a drug trafficker. She’s just as involved as he is. She is a willing participant in what she knows is a drug trafficking organization. She is every bit as involved in the eyes of the law.”
Brown County Prosecu-ting Attorney Zac Corbin said that he is pleased to see this case come to a successful end.
“This has been a tremendous investigation by multiple agencies.  It started out with our drug task force.  Some of our ongoing investigations last summer turned up Mr. Schmid’s name as key source of heroin for the Brown County area.  I hope these sources of heroin will now think twice before marketing their product in Brown County.”
Corbin said that the arrests of Schmid and Chancellor show that the the Brown County Drug and Major Crimes Task Force is paying off.
“I think it’s important to note that this is why the drug task force was created, to put multiple law enforcement officers in Brown County to work together, with their full time task being finding out where this heroin is coming from and going up the chain,” Corbin said.
He added that nobody in his office is declaring victory in the drug war after these two arrests.
“We know that there is someone who will move in to take his place.  There is still a lot of work to do.  If we continue to grow this task force and we continue to get tips and information from Brown County citizens, we can continue to build these types of cases,” Corbin said.
The tip line telephone number for the Drug and Major Crime Task Force is (937) 378-2573.