3 Accused Drug Traffickers Indicted In Lorain County

ELYRIA, OH — Law enforcement's concentrated crackdown on drug trafficking in Lorain County has produced three more indictments. Men from Elyria, Lorain and Cleveland have been accused of distributing opioids throughout the county.

Doyal Cannon, 33, of Elyria, Aaron Matthews, 35, of Lorain, and Ramon Collins, 36, of Cleveland, have all been indicted in federal court for drug trafficing. The Department of Justice said they found heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, along with guns, in the possession of the three men.

“These indictments, along with our activities of the past month, should make it clear that Lorain County is closed for business when it comes to drug trafficking,” U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said. “Many of these defendants are dangerous because they illegally have firearms while selling opioids and other drugs that have caused so much death and destruction in our community. All of our law enforcement partners are working together to stem the flow of these drugs into our neighborhoods – if you sell opioids in Lorain County, you are facing federal prison time.”

In mid-July, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Operation S.O.S., an aggressive, anti-opioid law enforcement program. Lorain County was one of a handful of areas picked for the pilot program. The indictments against Cannon, Matthews, and Collins is part of the program's efforts.

Cannon had more than two grams of a fentanyl, heroin mixture and seven grams of cocaine on him on June 13, court documents said. He also had a Glock .40-caliber handgun, and ammunition, despite a previous conviction barring him fro having a gun.

Matthews had a Kel-Tec 9 mm Luger pistol and ammunition, on Dec. 13, 2017, court documents said. He also had previous firearm and drug convictions, the Department of Justice said.

Finally, Collins reportedly had nearly seven grams of fentanyl on July 17. Four days later he had nearly 29 grams of a heroin, fentanyl mixture, court documents said.

“The Elyria Police Department is grateful for the outstanding working relationship we share with the U.S. Attorney’s Office," said Elyria Police Chief Duane Whitely. "Officers from our department investigated several drug complaints and were able to build a case and arrest several drug dealers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office took the cases and received indictments on all of them. I look forward to working together to take many more drug dealers off the streets of Elyria.”

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