ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A man arrested with more than 90 grams of cocaine in his possession will spend the next eight years behind bars.

Dermial Herbert Mills, 34, with addresses in Bellaire and Cleveland, saw the maximum sentence imposed for second-degree felony possession of drugs.

During his plea, Mills had waived his right to appeal a maximum sentence.

Charges stem from a traffic stop on Interstate 70 at milepost 210, reportedly because of a speeding violation. A K-9 officer was deployed and showed a positive indication for the presence of controlled substances, according to reports. Deputies found 93 grams of cocaine on Mills. Multiple cellular phones also were seized during the traffic stop. The sheriff’s department estimated the street value for the cocaine at about $20,000.

Prior to his arrest, Mills had faced a drug possession charge from 2016. The plea plea agreement resolved those charges.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato reviewed prior charges Mills has faced, saying they were not all convictions. They include felony counts of possession of drugs, trafficking in drugs and manufacturing and delivering drugs. He had served time on some of those charges.

“This court believes the maximum is justified in this case,” Fregiato said. “This is a lifetime of dealing and manufacturing of drugs. A lifetime desire, a chosen trade, a chosen profession. Providing poison in this county is stopping. It is stopping. You don’t poison the people of Belmont County as a career choice or any other choice. That stops right now.”

Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry said his office believes Mills had been engaged in drug trafficking.

“We are very pleased with the maximum sentence given by Judge Fregiato,” Fry said.

“My office and the (Belmont County) Major Crimes Unit have focused on individuals who are considered major drug traffickers. Mr. Mills was one of those individuals…This sentence was the culmination of a thorough and intense investigation, and it is further proof that this county will not tolerate this activity.”

He commended Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Vavra and Deputy Brian Carpenter for their work on the case.

A man reportedly in the vehicle with Mills, Scott Beveridge, 36, of Bellaire, was also arrested in July. He has not yet been arraigned.

In other matters, Denver Lee Woodburn, 55, of Barnesville, now being held at the Belmont County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond on a charge of failure to appear, went before Fregiato for a brief status conference. He is accused of causing severe injuries to a dog, which had to be euthanized. Woodburn is set to go to trial Nov. 28, with a plea hearing set for Nov. 5. The charge is a fifth-degree felony that carries with it the possibility of 12 months in prison.

Woodburn is the second person in the county to be prosecuted under what is known as Goddard’s Law. The first instance was in 2017 when Michael Chedester was convicted of shooting two dogs that had wandered onto his property while he was hunting.