Eric Dover
HANCOCK COUNTY — A Fortville man who was arrested and charged with a felony drug crime in February 2022 was sentenced this week in Hancock County Superior Court 1 after an agreement between the state and defendant was reached.
Eric Donald Dover, 45, ended up with two guilty pleas for a Level 4 felony count of possession of meth and a Class C Misdemeanor count of possession of paraphernalia in Wednesday’s sentencing hearing overseen by Magistrate Cody Coombs.
Dover was given a five-year term in the Indiana Department of Corrections for the Level 4 felony. He was given credit for 59 days served and 20 days of good behavior. Dover has been told to complete work in a Recovery While Incarcerated program. Court records show Dover may petition to modify his sentence after completion of RWI.
The case against Dover was set for a jury trial this summer but, following several hearings and a pre-sentence investigation report, the guilty pleas were officially entered this week.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Dover was pulled over for a traffic offense. However, officers from the Fortville Police Department, with the help of the McCordsville Police Department and sheriff’s deputies, were able to discover drugs in Dover’s vehicle after a K-9 officer alerted them.
Records show that Dover was originally charged with a Level 3 felony count of possession of methamphetamine in an amount of 28 grams or more.
Police stopped Dover on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 in the 400 block of Monroe Street in Fortville. Dover, who exited the SUV he was driving, made his way to the porch of a nearby home and was reluctant to talk with police, a probable cause affidavit said.
Officers noticed Dover was in possession of two knives, as was a passenger in the vehicle. Police secured a total of three knives and ran a plate check on the SUV. While this was happening a McCordsville Police Department K-9, Mattis, detected the scent of drugs around the SUV, the report said.
Officers searched the vehicle and discovered a plastic bag containing a crystalline substance as well as a glass pipe. The crystalline substance, which weighed 28.5 grams, and the pipe both field-tested positive for methamphetamine, the report stated.
Dover told officers the drugs were his and that he had obtained them in Indianapolis for his personal use, the report said.
