A man who pleaded guilty in April to trafficking a fentanyl-related compound is not headed to prison today as once planned, but he will be put on community control due to health issues.

Judge Howard H. Harcha III said there was a time for humanitarian sentencing, and this was it. Instead of the 17 months in state prison he agreed to, James R. Elliott, of Portsmouth, will be placed under the control of the Scioto County Parole Department for three years.

“I called the cancer center and talked with them,” Harcha told Elliott in open court June 12. “It’s my understanding you’ve got liver problems and your platelets are critically low.

“The agreement was you were going to go to prison. Since I’ve looked more into your medical condition, I’m going to put you on community control.”

Elliott, 57, had originally been indicted on: Possession of criminal tools; trafficking in cocaine; three counts of trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound; four counts of possession of a fentanyl-related compound; possession of cocaine; and trafficking in counterfeit controlled substances.

In the same case, Elliott’s wife, Taniya Ranea Elliott, 39, of Portsmouth, had previously been sentenced to community control for the same charges.

James Elliott thanked the judge for revising the sentencing, which was done with the agreement by both the defense and the prosecution. “I just want to thank you,” Elliot told the judge.

But Harcha made his position clear: a prison sentence is still in play if Elliott doesn’t stick to what the Scioto County Probation Department ordered.

“You comply with the rules and conditions of the Scioto County Probation Department,” he said. “I will sentence you to 17 months in prison. I don’t want to have to do that. Good luck to you.”

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