Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Plea deal reached in drug, assault cases

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Bessemer — A plea agreement was reached in the two cases against a man authorities say is a key figure in the Gogebic Range drug trade which will see him serve at least eight years in prison.

In Gogebic County Circuit Court Friday, Adam Lee Stone, 36, of Ironwood, pleaded guilty to a total of four felonies — two in each of the cases against him.

Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said he pushed for the sentence due to Stone’s importance in the area’s illegal drug trade.

“After processing these recent drug cases since I took office in January, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Stone is one of (the key players), if not the key player, in our current war on drugs in the Gogebic County area,” Jacobs told the Daily Globe Monday.

Stone’s plea agreement includes a stipulation that he serve at least a minimum of eight years in prison for the charges, with the maximum potential sentence of 20 years.

In one case — originally scheduled for a trial beginning Monday — Stone pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by a felon and assault with a dangerous weapon, both of which are potential four-year felonies. The plea agreement calls for the two other counts in the case — possession of heroin and a felony firearm charge — to be dismissed at sentencing.

The charges stem from a Jan. 13 incident where Gogebic County Sheriff’s deputies and Michigan State Police troopers responded to a Snowdrift Street, Ironwood Township, residence after receiving a report of a serious assault taking place there.

In the other case, Stone pleaded guilty to the delivery or manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of a controlled substance on school or library property. As stipulated in the plea agreement five other counts in the case — delivery or manufacturing of heroin; delivery or manufacturing of suboxone, adderall and vicodin; delivery or manufacturing of xanax, valium and tramadol; delivery or manufacturing of methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house — will be dismissed at sentencing.

This second case, originally scheduled for a November trial, stem from an Oct. 22, 2015, incident where Ironwood Township resident Donald Kirby picked up a safe containing a variety of drugs from his brother, Mykahl Kirby’s house. When Donald Kirby pleaded guilty in May to charges he was facing, he testified Stone was the owner of the safe.

According to Jacobs, the deal also said the prosecution wouldn’t pursue a habitual offender designation for Stone.

Jacobs said the October case was an effort by local law enforcement, including the Gogebic Iron Area Narcotics Team to net a large number of the area’s drug dealers.

“The October 2015 incident was an orchestration by proactive law enforcement to catch as many participants as they could,” Jacobs said. “And it netted us many individuals, (Stone) is the last.”

Both Donald and Mykahl Kirby were among those also charged, with Mykahl being sentenced to 11 months in jail in July as part of a plea deal that included the October case.

Donald was sentenced to 38 months in prison on a heroin possession charge in August related to the seized safe. He was also sentenced to two years on a felony firearms charge in a separate case.

Stone is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 1.

 
 
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