COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A 12-count federal indictment shed new light on a string of crimes allegedly committed by two suspected drug dealers.
Antwan Lamar Hutchinson and Michael James Favors both stand accused of murdering witnesses who could have testified against them in court. The indictment and other court documents paint a picture of drugs, violence, and fear.
Hutchinson and Favors were Columbus drug dealers who had an expansive operation that supplied communities across the state according to US District Attorney Benjamin Glassman. He explains, “It [the indictment] charges them in the first count with a drug trafficking conspiracy that was headquartered here in Columbus, but that operated throughout the state of Ohio.” Glassman says the pair used violence and intimidation to keep people in their operation from stealing drugs or cooperating with law enforcement.
Cody Campbell worked with Hutchinson and Favors according to court documents. They suspected Campbell was working with police. They beat him with a 2×4 and fishing poles in his Whitethorne Avenue home located in the Hilltop in early February. The two suspects locked his mother, Sidney, in a bedroom while the beating took place.
Days later, Cody Campbell died. The Franklin County Coroner ruled his death an accident from acute intoxications by cocaine and methamphetamine. Still, Hutchinson and Favors allegedly sought to silence possible witnesses to Campbell’s February beating according to court documents. Investigators say on February 23rd, the pair killed Sidney Campbell, Cody’s mother, and another woman, Marie Stamp.
Glassman says witness intimidation is a serious crime, “The law takes very seriously the prospect of tampering with witnesses by use of force and indeed killing them because you can see that reflected in the statutory penalties.” Killing possible witnesses carry stiff penalties, “If you actually kill a witness to prevent that person from cooperating, that is a mandatory minimum of life in prison up to death.” There are multiple witnesses cooperating with this current investigation. Glassman saw these people are in witness protection and being watched closely by investigators, “Part of their work in this case is making sure witnesses that we have in this case and for the ongoing investigation are kept safe.” He tells NBC4 some of the witnesses have even been relocated.
If found guilty, Hutchinson and Favors could face the death penalty. US District Attorney Benjamin Glassman says US Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions will decide if the government will pursue the death penalty against the defendants.
