By Amber Gillenwater

mdtnews@mydailytribune.com

GALLIPOLIS — A Gallia County woman was recently found guilty of two counts of permitting drug abuse by a jury of her peers in the Gallia County Court of Common Pleas.

After a two-day jury trial and approximately 45 minutes of deliberation, a jury found Rhonda Salmons, 32, Gallipolis, guilty of permitting Ayla Gibbs to traffick in drugs and Clella J. Booth to possess drugs at a residence located at 152 Fourth Avenue, Gallipolis — a residence Salmons owned, leased and/or occupied.

Salmons is scheduled to appear in the common pleas court on Tuesday, February 7 at 1:15 p.m. for sentencing.

Salmons was arrested, along with Gibbs, 22, Vinton, and Booth, 53, Crown City, on April 19, 2011, at her residence on Fourth Avenue following a search of the residence by officers with the Gallipolis Police Department.

The search warrant was the result of an investigation into the alleged sale of illegal drugs at the residence.

Prescription drugs, cash and a weapon were seized by officers during the search.

Booth was subsequently charged with six counts of drug possession, five counts of trafficking in drugs and one count of having weapons under disability.

Booth was scheduled to appear for a hearing in the common pleas court on November 23, 2011, and, after failing to appear, a warrant was issued for her arrest.

Gibbs was charged with four counts of trafficking in drugs and three counts of drug possession after she allegedly sold or offered to sell 0.1 grams of heroin on September 23, 2010, and was in the possession of said drug on the day in question, allegedly sold or offered to sell three hydromorphone tablets and one Morphine tablet on September 30, 2010, and was in the possession of said drugs on the day in question, and sold or offered to sell one oxycodone pill in the vicinity of a juvenile on October 8, 2010.

Gibbs subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in drugs, one count of attempted trafficking in drugs and one count of drug possession and was later sentenced to 36 months of community control.

However, Gibbs’ probation was recently revoked after she committed a theft offense in August 2011 and was found to be in the possession of alcohol and drug paraphernalia.

Gibbs was sentenced on January 19, to a total of 11 months of imprisonment and, in a second common pleas case, was sentenced to 11 months in the Ohio Reformatory for Women after pleading guilty to one count of drug possession, sentences ordered to be served consecutively for a total of 22 months of imprisonment.