A Michigan man who avoided trial several months ago because he skipped bond avoided trial a second time when he pleaded guilty to his drug charges Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Eugene Walmsley, 28, of St. Inkster, Mich., will spend four and a half years in prison but Judge D. Scott Bowling left open the possibility of judicial release after 18 months provided Walmsley stays out of trouble while he is incarcerated.

Walsmley was one of three people arrested on drug charges during an Ohio State Highway Patrol traffic stop in October 2007.

The trial for Walmsley, James Daniel, of Wayne, Mich., and Chartese Love, 24, of Huntington, W.Va., was scheduled for September 2008 but only Love showed up. She pleaded guilty to the charges against her and the search began for the two men.

Daniel was apprehended in December 2008. Walmsley was on the run until earlier this month when he was apprehended in his home state and returned to Ohio.

In another case, Raymond Parks, 27, of Detroit, Mich., entered an Alford plea of guilty to two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs. Parks will be sentenced May 27.

He was to have stood trial before Bowling next week on those charges.

Waylon Ferguson, 28, of 16178 State Route 7, Crown City, pleaded guilty to a charge of resisting arrest.

In exchange for his guilty plea, one count of complicity to felonious assault was dismissed. Judge Charles Cooper sentenced him to 90 days in jail with 45 days suspended.

He was given credit for the six days in jail he served while awaiting resolution of his case. Ferguson was also placed on three years probation.

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Ferguson told Cooper.

Four people who were secretly indicted on drug charges by a Lawrence County grand jury earlier this month were arraigned Wednesday.

Stephen D. Logsdon, 44, of 1119 S. Third St., Ironton, was arraigned on three counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and one count of corrupting another with drugs.

He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Tyler Smith.

Cooper set bond at $50,000 and ordered Logsdon to return to court April 8 for a pretrial conference.

Linda Delawder, 52, of 909 1/2 N. Second St., Ironton, was arraigned on two counts of trafficking in drugs and two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs. She pleaded not guilty through her attorney, Mike Davenport.

Cooper set bond at $50,000 cash or $100,000 property and scheduled an April 1 pretrial conference.

Calvin Kersey Sr., 46, of 1125 S. Eighth St., Ironton, was arraigned on one count of trafficking in drugs.

He pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Warren Morford. Bowling set bond at $10,000 and ordered him to return to court April 8 for a pretrial conference.

His son, Calvin Kersey Jr., followed his father into the courtroom and was arraigned on the same charge — a fact pointed out by Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr., who noted the alleged drug sales were conducted “in front of a four-year-old boy.”

The younger Kersey, 22, of the same address, pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Mike Gleichauf.

Bowling set an OR bond of $25,000 with electronic monitoring and scheduled an April 8 pretrial conference.