Man accused of selling meth in Port pleads to felonies

A 41-year-old man who according to a woman he lived with when he was arrested last year sold methamphetamine from his home in Port Washington pleaded no contest to drug charges in Ozaukee County Circuit Court last week.

The pleas of Drew Honea were accepted by Judge Steve Cain, who found him guilty of felony counts of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia used to produce or store methamphetamine during a Sept. 23 hearing.

A felony charge of maintaining a drug trafficking place and misdemeanor counts of possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed as part of a plea agreement but read into the record, which means Cain can consider the facts surrounding those charges when sentencing Honea.

Ozaukee  County District Attorney Benjamin Lindsay is recommending Honea be sentenced to three months in jail for possession of methamphetamine and 12 months in jail for the possession of drug paraphernalia conviction. The 12-month sentence, however, would be imposed and stayed, and Honea would be placed on probation for two years, which means that if he completes probation, he would not have to serve the jail time. 

Honea is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 3.

Honea was arrested after Ozaukee County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant at Honea’s home on West Portview Drive in Port Washington on Tuesday, April 29. According to a criminal complaint, in the bedroom he shared with the woman he lived with authorities found a rolled up dollar bill with white residue on  it, two glass pipes with burnt residue on them, marijuana and a scale with cocaine residue on it. 

Baggies — the type that are sometimes used to package drugs for sale — were found in a kitchen garbage can. One of them contained methamphetamine, the complaint states.

During an interview with officers, Honea said he uses marijuana and cocaine, but the only drug in the home at the time was marijuana, which was in a safe, according to the complaint. 

The woman, who was not charged, told investigators that two people named Ashley and Derek had recently been at their home and smoked methamphetamine while her and Honea’s three children were sleeping in their bedrooms. Derek, she said, had two bags of methamphetamine with him, the complaint states.

The woman said Ashley buys methamphetamine in Milwaukee, then delivers it to Honea at his home in Port in “little bags” that Honea then sells to customers in northern Ozaukee County and southern Sheboygan County, according to the complaint.

At 12:05 a.m. Monday, April 28 — the day before authorities searched Honea’s home — a sheriff’s deputy pulled over a Chevrolet Trailblazer on Highway 60 near Hillcrest Road in the Town of Cedarburg that was being driven by Derek Hamilton. Ashley Gilmore was a passenger in the vehicle.

Gilmore said they were on their way home from their friend Drew’s house, referring to Honea.

The deputy found a lock box in the glove compartment of the Trailblazer, but both  Hamilton and Gilmore denied knowing the box was in the vehicle and said they didn’t have the combination to open it, according to a complaint filed in a separate case against Hamilton and Gilmore.

The deputy pried the box open and found two large sandwich bags containing a crystal-like substance as well as baggies, the complaint states.

Also found in the vehicle were a glass pipe with suspected methamphetamine on it and a receipt with first names and initials, as well as weights listed in grams, that the deputy presumed was a list of drug customers, according to the complaint.

When the deputy searched Gilmore’s purse he found a digital scale with white residue on it.

The bags of the crystal-like substance found in the Trailblazer weighed 82 grams and tested positive for methamphetamine, the complaint states.

Gilmore, 36, of Marshfield pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine on May 20 in Ozaukee County Circuit Court and was sentenced by Cain to two years in prison and three years of extended supervision.

Eight counts of felony bail jumping and a charge of possession of drug paraphernalia used to produce or store methamphetamine were dismissed but read into the record.

At the time of her arrest, Gilmore was free in lieu of bail in connection with charges of bail jumping and obstructing an officer in Portage County, felony retail theft in Marathon County and two counts of retail theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia in Wood County, according to the complaint.

She has since been convicted of obstructing an officer, retail theft and possession of methamphetamine.

Hamilton, 39, of Coloma pleaded no contest on July 9 to one count of possession of methamphetamine. Cain sentenced him to 1-1/2 years in prison and two years of extended supervision but stayed the sentence and placed him on probation for two years.

A charge of felony bail jumping was dismissed as part of a plea agreement but read into the record.

Hamilton was charged in 2023 with possession of methamphetamine in Brown County. In January 2024, he entered into an 18-month deferred prosecution agreement, which meant that if he abided by the conditions of that agreement, which included not committing crimes, the case against him would be dropped. The agreement was subsequently revoked and Hamilton was sentenced to jail.

Honea has been free in lieu of $5,000 bail since May 2025. Court records indicate he moved to Jackson in April of this year.