BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio

It was a case late Bethesda Police Chief Tim Zdanski and his team spent years investigating. Finally, in early July, NEWS9 was invited along for the ride as police took James Damico, 46, into custody. Police said Damico was a major drug player, and they had been tracking him since 2008.

Damico is accused of trafficking drugs, mostly pain pills.

At the time of Damico’s arrest, Zdanski said his officers had spent about 2,000 hours in volunteer time watching who went in and out of Damico’s house, documenting license plate numbers and conducting traffic stops.

Then, in a major operation, undercover police created a diversion with a village truck, telling Damico there was a sewer problem in the neighborhood. Once officers were inside the home, he was arrested.

Damico was indicted by a grand jury on one count of drug trafficking, a second-degree with a juvenile specification. This morning, Damico was in court for his arraignment.

An attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, and his bond was set at $20,000.

NEWS9 spoke with Belmont County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Berhalter.

"All of the evidence that was found in this investigation that was conducted by Chief Zdanski and the Belmont County Drug Task Force was presented to the Belmont County grand jury last week,” he said. “After hearing all this evidence, they returned an indicted of possession of drugs, a felony of the second degree. What that means here is, we have a maximum penalty here of eight years in prison."