By CHRISTINE BOATWRIGHT / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – A Fairfield man was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the attempted distribution of a controlled substance Nov. 26.

Freddie Tarvaris Alexander, 22, was arrested in August 2011 and convicted Sept. 26, 2012. Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves sentenced Alexander to 35 years in prison and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine, as well as all court costs, medical expenses while in jail and $1,000 to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.

Alexander had a previous record of violent crime convictions, according to Shelby County Drug Task Force Commander Lt. Kevin Turner.

Turner said the Shelby County district attorney’s office did an “excellent job” explaining the reason for requesting such a severe sentence.

“It’s high because of (Alexander’s) prior criminal history and previous convictions,” Turner said, also stating Alexander’s apparent lack of rehabilitation added to the prosecution’s argument.

Alexander is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail without bond.

Alexander was convicted of trafficking heroin, which has become a prevalent issue in the county.

“Our heroin cases have tripled in the last three years or so. Right now, we’ve seen a large trend change for heroin,” Turner said. “It was important to us to have a conviction as well as his previous record to have as high of a record as we could get from it. We feel good about it.

“We’re just trying to keep him from poisoning other people in the county with this product,” Turner said. “Obviously, he can’t do that from prison.”