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34-year-old man pleads guilty to drug charges, involvement in death of Columbus man

Dustin Speakman is one of 23 defendants charged in a narcotics and human trafficking case that involves at least two deaths.
Credit: Franklin County Jail

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man pleaded guilty Wednesday and may face at least 20 years in prison for drug charges and his role in the death of a man in 2022, according to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker.

Dustin Speakman, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute substances within 1,000 feet of an elementary school. As part of his plea, Speakman admitted to his role in the death of one victim which occurred during the time he was operating a drug distribution house, the attorney's office said.

His plea includes a sentencing recommendation of 20 to 23 years in prison.

Speakman is one of 23 defendants charged in a narcotics and human trafficking case that involves at least two deaths.

Court documents detail that a drug trafficking organization in Columbus brought large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, alprazolam and marijuana into the city from 2008 until June 2022. These drugs were sold or used to coerce individuals into sexual activity for some members of the drug ring and their profit. 

Speakman joined the drug trafficking organization after being released from jail in 2022. He was a mid-level drug distributor for the group out of residences on South Ogden and South Warren avenues.

As part of his guilty plea, Speakman admitted to severely beating one of his drug runners in May 2022 and then providing him with free drugs to make up for the attack. Witnesses said the male was beaten by Speakman and then given cocaine and fentanyl as compensation. 

Shortly after, the victim began to seize and foam at the mouth and did not respond to Narcan. The victim was driven to an alley near Grant Medical Center where he was found unconscious by Columbus Fire Department personnel with severe trauma to the face and head. His cause of death was ultimately determined to be blunt force trauma caused by Speakman. 

Thus far, 18 of the 23 defendants in the case have pleaded guilty. 

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