Justin Alexander was once considered “the next big thing” in local boys’ basketball, according to a letter given to the Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas.
It became a life of shame and squander, according to Muskingum County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney John Litle in the same report, and it culminated in Alexander’s sentencing on February 23 for his prominent part in Ohio’s largest prison conspiracy.
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Alexander, 47, stayed relatively silent as he was sentenced to 33 more years in prison and $50,000 in fines for 47 offenses by Common Pleas Judge Kelly Cottrill.
In 2022 and 2023, Alexander became the ringleader of a highly autonomous network of 16 underlings inside and outside numerous Ohio prisons, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug sales.
Alexander oversaw the massive plot while detained at the Southern Ohio Regional Correctional Facility in Lucasville, receiving a 25-year sentence for home invasion. The operation made use of drones, playing cards, drug-soaked book pages, and even a Columbus-based attorney’s office.
Investigators eventually discovered that the smuggling ring made approximately $90,000 in its first 90 days, with one female co-defendant laundering more than $218,000 on her own.
“It sounds hyperbolic. This case is hyperbolic,” Litle said.
Little noted that the case was complex and complicated, and it grew into a massive undertaking that many prosecutors’ offices lacked the capacity to manage. It was tedious and stressful, especially since Alexander, known for his brilliant yet cunning nature, knows how to play the game while confined and utilizes that knowledge to lure men and women into his plans, he continued.
“This court spent two weeks learning the kind of evil (Alexander) concocts, even when caged,” Litle said in his memo. “(He) did not grow up without skills or options. He chose then, as he chooses now, to be a menace.”
Litle sought a 150-year sentence after Alexander was found guilty of 50 felonies on February 12, including conspiracy, money laundering, illegal drug conveyance into a prison, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, drug possession, and trafficking in pinaca, butinaca, methamphetamine, and cocaine.
Alexander’s attorney, Zach Tabler, disputed the 150-year sentence, stating that it was inappropriate and requesting an undefined number of concurrent sentences.
“He’s a human being capable of reform,” Tabler said before the court.
Alexander simply responded to a few yes or no questions and said nothing in his own defense.
“Not sure I’ve seen a defendant that’s more manipulative. More selfish,” Cottrill said. “It’s nearly unbelievable what you’re capable of doing while incarcerated,” he added with a sigh.
Alexander’s criminal history extends back to the mid-1990s, and it includes burglary, theft, manslaughter, firearms under disability, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and escape.
Alexander’s 33-year sentence might be extended to 44 years. Three of his counts were combined, thus he was punished on 47, not 50. He will most likely be transferred to an out-of-state facility where he may know fewer locals.
