T-L Photo/J.D. LONG Former Jewett Police Officer Steven Hardy, right, pleads guilty to two felonies Tuesday. He received no jail time; instead, Special Prosecutor Andrea Boyd recommended probation, which Judge T. Shawn Hervey granted.

CADIZ — Steven Hardy, a former Jewett Police officer who was found to be intoxicated and unresponsive after seizing drugs at the scene of a traffic accident, pleaded guilty to a pair of felonies Tuesday in Harrison County Common Pleas Court.

Hardy initially was charged with three crimes. He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies. A third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed.

Andrea Boyd, special prosecutor for the state who was brought in due to a conflict of interest for local prosecutors in a case where a law enforcement officer is involved, told the court Hardy did not qualify for a prison sentence.

“He does have some minor prior offenses but nothing that would make him prison eligible,” she said.

Boyd said Hardy has been cooperative but did request that he be assessed for a possible substance abuse problem as part of his community-based control sanctions.

Boyd told the court Boyd had responded to an accident involving a motor vehicle where various narcotics were found at the scene. Hardy was the officer who seized those drugs. He was then found “unresponsive” the following morning inside his vehicle. She said a wrapper containing fentanyl was located in his pocket.

“That constitutes one of the possession charges,” Boyd said.

The other charge he pleaded guilty to involved other narcotics found on him that matched the narcotics found at the crime scene he had responded to the night before.

Hervey told Boyd he was satisfied with the facts of the case, as well as Boyd’s recommendation for sentencing. Hardy’s attorney, Donovan Hill, told the court he agreed with the community controls and didn’t feel prison was necessary for his client.

“I believe Mr. Hardy is an ideal candidate for this court’s probation,” he said.

He did not object to Boyd’s request that his client follow up with any of the court’s recommendations for drug counseling if needed. Hill said his client has a good relationship with Harrison County Probation Officer Dan Rapavi and was not requesting, at this time, to move his community control sanctions to Stark County because Hardy’s residence is in Canton.

Hill requested that his client’s vehicle be released to him and that a confiscated firearm be released, possibly to a relative of Hardy.

Jewett Police Chief Ron Carter, who also doubles as a lieutenant for the Cadiz Police Department, gave this statement upon learning of Hardy’s sentence: “Upon learning of the accusations I took prompt action. (I) called in another agency as proper protocol and it was an unfortunate event. There was no indication of anything before and I’m happy it closed.”

Boyd and Hervey said Hardy is barred from any law enforcement job in the state of Ohio.