Carthage man sentenced in heroin case

FARMINGTON — A Carthage man was sentenced June 7 to one year in jail, with all time suspended, for his part in a July 30, 2015, heroin case.

Russell C. Smith, 53, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal conspiracy in Franklin County Superior Court, according to court documents. He will serve nine months of probation.

The state dismissed felony charges of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and unlawful possession of scheduled drugs in the agreement.

His sons, Anthony W. Smith, 31, of Carthage, and Jonathan Smith, 29, of Mexico, have pleaded guilty to selling heroin. Anthony Smith was sentenced in Franklin County Superior Court to serve one year of a five-year prison sentence in November 2016. Jonathan Smith was sentenced in Oxford County Superior Court to serve nine months of a six-year sentence in May.

According to Franklin County Detective Stephen Charles’ affidavit filed with the court in 2015, the elder Smith told a drug agent he had a heroin abuse problem.

He also told the agent that his sons had been using heroin heavily and selling, the affidavit states.

Assistant Attorney General David Fisher told a Farmington court in November 2016 that text messages show that Jonathan Smith was running the drug operation.