LISBON — Counsel for an East Liverpool man recently sentenced to least 19 years in prison for multiple drug counts filed an appeal recently to challenge denial of his request to suppress evidence from a February 2024 drug raid.

At issue was the suppression hearing decision entered on Feb. 4, 2025 by Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bickerton in one of the cases against Joseph J. DeSarro, 32, last known address Cannons Mill Road.

The drug raid on a Cadmus Street, East Liverpool property on Feb. 12, 2024 resulted in the seizure of more than 1,000 grams or 1 kilo of counterfeit pressed fentanyl pills disguised as prescription Percocet, roughly 56 grams of cocaine and cash totaling $6,920.

The recent sentencing involved charges from three separate indictments for three separate incidents, including the drug raid in East Liverpool and two traffic stops, all in 2024.

For the case involving the drug raid, DeSarro was accused of placing bags of cocaine and pressed fentanyl pills into the upstairs bathroom toilet and attempting to flush them while the Columbiana County Drug Task Force was executing the search warrant.

The sentence for that case included consecutive indefinite terms of nine to 13 years and three to four and a half years for two counts of first-degree felony possession of a fentanyl-related compound, and three to four and a half years for first-degree felony possession of cocaine, with a specifications for forfeiture of money in a drug case, for a total of 15 years to 19 1/2 years. He was sentenced to serve one year for third-degree felony tampering with evidence, to be served at the same time as the other terms. He also received mandatory fines totaling $30,000 and was ordered to forfeit the $6,920.

With the sentences from the other two cases, he was ordered to prison for at least 19 years and could face an additional six years if the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections decides he needs to serve the additional time due to his behavior while behind bars.

The judgment entry filed by Bickerton centered on the search of a vehicle belonging to DeSarro’s wife which was not listed in the search warrant. During the execution of the search warrant, a police K-9 was present and was used for an open air sniff of the vehicles and residence on Cadmus Street, East Liverpool. The police K-9 alerted on the vehicle which was then searched, with the Columbiana County Drug Task Force finding a ziplock bag with thousands of fentanyl pills inside a cereal box. The defendant denied ownership of the vehicle, but had the keys.

According to Bickerton, the use of a dog to sniff the exterior of a vehicle lawfully detained doesn’t constitute a search that violates the law.

“The vehicle was searched after K-9 Csuti alerted on the vehicle establishing probable cause for the search of the vehicle,” she wrote, denying the motion to suppress.

mgreier@mojonews.com