Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Rodgers, Jr. recently sentenced two individuals heavily involved in a local drug ring:

Miles Bartnick was sentenced to consecutive terms of 10 years and 10 months to 20 years for maintaining a meth lab and 17 months to 4 years for possession of cocaine for his involvement in maintaining several meth labs in the Traverse City area. Bartnick is believed to have been primarily responsible for teaching others how to manufacture meth and since his arrest the county prosecutor reports the number of meth-related cases in Grand Traverse County has gone down dramatically.

David Ruff was sentenced to consecutive terms of 57 months to 20 years (about 10-40 years total) on his convictions of two counts of delivery/manufacture of cocaine and heroin. Ruff is believed to be the leader of a drug ring involved in the importing and distribution of significant amounts of cocaine and heroin to the county on an on-going basis – by some reports up to 40 grams or more a day.