Raid on Columbia Station residence nets 2 arrests; meth and heroin seized

COLUMBIA STATION — The Lorain County Sheriff's Office Drug Task Force and the DEA arrested two people on felony drug charges after a search of a Plum Creek Drive residence. The arrests of Bruce McKenzie, 45, and Ashley Smith, 30, at 14471 Plum Creek Drive, were the result of an eight-month investigation by the Drug Task Force, authorities said. McKenzie and Smith were charged with one count each of trafficking in drugs, both felonies, and taken to Lorain County Jail. McKenzie was being held on $5,000 bond. His initial appearance in Elyria Municipal Court is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday. Smith was being held on $2,500 bond, also pending a court date at 9 a.m. Monday in Elyria Municipal Court. The raid uncovered suspected methamphetamine and heroin, along with drug paraphernalia used to ingest both, according to the Drug Task Force. Assisting in the search warrant was the Lorain County SWAT team. Additional charges are possible against McKenzie, Smith and others who were present once laboratory testing on the seized items is completed, according to the Drug Task Force. Several of the people found inside the house also were present when it was raided by the Drug Task Force and Ohio Adult Parole Authority agents in 2018. Drug paraphernalia also was confiscated during that raid, authorities said. McKenzie's prior criminal record includes arrests for fleeing and eluding police, felony drug possession, multiple DUI charges, driving under suspension, having illegal or fictitious license plates, resisting arrest, failure to appear in and contempt of court and probation violations, according to jail records. He was granted drug treatment intervention by a judge in 2016 on felony charges, which later was amended to three years probation after McKenzie violated the terms of his sentence, according to court records. He also was sentenced to 106 days in Lorain County Jail on a felony drug possession charge in 2017, records show. Smith's prior record includes felony charges of nonsupport of dependent children, jail records show, and it appears she was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear in Lorain County Common Pleas Court after being indicted on those charges by a grand jury, court records show. Smith also was convicted of third-degree felony grand theft in January 2015 and sentenced to nine months in the Ohio Reformatory for Women, according to court records. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.