STEUBENVILLE — A Cleveland man was sentenced Monday to prison after pleading guilty to bringing drugs into Jefferson County, Prosecutor Jane Hanlin said.

Common Pleas Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. sentenced James Lester Blackwell, 47, to 11 to 16.5 years behind bars for possessing a large quantity of cocaine and failure to comply with the orders or signals of a police officer. The first eight 8-12 years of his prison sentence is mandatory in nature, she said.

Hanlin said Blackwell also will forfeit the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse he was driving.

Blackwell was taken into custody following an investigation by the Hancock-Brooke-Weirton Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force, along with assistance from the Jefferson County Drug Task Force and the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Hanlin said when officers initially tried to pull him over he fled and later crashed his vehicle into an apartment building on Sherman Avenue.

“This is yet another example of cooperation between our task forces on each side of the river, along with assistance from the Ohio State Highway Patrol,” Hanlin said. “Working together, these officers were able to remove nearly three kilograms of cocaine before it ever reached the streets of the Ohio Valley. For that, we should all be grateful.”