Elyria Man Charged With Heroin And Fentanyl Distribution, Including Fentanyl Which Caused The Death Of An Elyria Resident

A six-count indictment was filed charging an Elyria man with distribution of heroin and fentanyl, including distributing fentanyl that caused the death of an Elyria resident on Nov. 9, 2013, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Siarres R. Noble, age 29, faces two counts of distribution of heroin and four counts of distribution of fentanyl.

The charges include the specification that alleges the fentanyl Noble distributed on November 8, 2013, resulted in the death of an Elyria resident one day later.

“The poison sold by this defendant directly led to the death of a woman,” Dettelbach said. “Heroin and fentanyl use leads to death, destroys lives and damages families. We will continue doing all we can to turn the tide on this epidemic.”

“Information about heroin and other dangerous illegal drugs has become too common place in our daily news reports,” said Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cleveland Office. “The partnership between law enforcement, social services and the community must continue in order to further attempts to rid our territory of these highly addictive substances.”  

Elyria Police Chief Duane Whitely said: “There is a serious drug problem in this country and it is important that law enforcement at every level take the steps necessary to combat the sales of illegal drugs.  Sadly, in this case, the sale of drugs led to someone’s death.  The weapon used may not have been a gun, but it is just as deadly. 

“I want to thank everyone involved in this case for the effort they put into it.  Starting with the response from Elyria Police Investigative Unit for responding so quickly to the spike in overdoses that led to the arrest of Siarres Noble for selling the drugs that led to the death. I cannot say enough about the efforts put forward by the Lorain County Prosecutor’s office, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office. It is the strong working relationship between all of these agencies that led to the federal indictment of Siarres Noble,” Whitely said.  

The indictment results from an investigation conducted by the Elyria Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case was presented for indictment by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Corts and Vasile C. Katsaros and Special Assistant United States Attorney Margaret Tomaro. 

If convicted, the defendants’ sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.