An ambulance backed up to the loading dock at the Hamilton County Courthouse was designated as a courtroom Wednesday morning.

Inside was 42-year-old Kirk Lenell Smith, who is believed to weigh more than 600 pounds.

It was the easiest way for Smith to appear before Common Pleas Judge Tom Heekin to plead guilty and be sentenced.

"Moving Kirk Smith from the ambulance would endanger his health and well-being," Heekin said, reading from a document.

Smith, a blood oxygen monitor on his left index finger, pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and being a felon in possession of a gun. Heekin imposed a 2-year prison sentence that had been agreed upon as part of the plea.

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Heekin's court reporter set up at the edge of the ambulance, and Heekin had one foot inside.

Throughout the hearing, Smith was able to give one- or two-word answers to Heekin's questions. When asked if he wanted to make a statement, Smith appeared to try, but was unable to speak.

Police in April 2018 searched Smith's Carthage home and found a backpack containing cocaine "in an amount indicative of trafficking" and a loaded Kel-Tec 9mm gun, court documents say.

Smith was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 2009 and was sentenced to three years in prison. He also has cocaine trafficking convictions dating back to 1999, records show.