Carlisle Twp. drug dealer pleads guilty, sentenced to 4-5 1/2 years in prison

A Carlisle Township man convicted of selling cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms around children has been ordered to serve a prison term starting in October. Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Raymond Ewers on Monday accepted Deandre Epps' guilty plea to seven felony and two misdemeanor charges. Epps, 36, of Oberlin-Elyria Road, had been scheduled to go on trial starting Monday on charges of felony charges of trafficking in cocaine, aggravated trafficking in drugs, possession of cocaine, aggravated possession of drugs and possession of criminal tools, and misdemeanor charges of endangering children plus firearms specifications. Instead, Epps pleaded guilty, and Ewers sentenced him to an indefinite 4-to-5 1/2 years in prison. Ewers ordered Epps to report to the Lorain County Jail by 2 p.m. Oct. 5 to begin serving his sentence. The indefinite sentence means Epps must serve at least the minimum four years before he is eligible for release on post-release control, formerly known as parole. A message seeking comment on the plea and sentence was left for Epps' attorney, Doug Merrill. Epps agreed to forfeit $14,596 in cash, a Taurus handgun, three cellphones and an electronic digital scale seized by police in a June 27, 2025, raid on his residence at 41314 Oberlin-Elyria Road. The Elyria Police Department and the Lorain County Drug Task Force, which is based out of the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, raided Epps' residence on that day as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation. Investigators seized more than 27 grams of cocaine, 22 ounces of marijuana, 6.6 grams of meth in pill form and 3 grams of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms. Authorities said the crimes were more serious because Epps sold drugs with children present. Contact Dave O'Brien at dobrien@chroniclet.com.