Jeffery L. Barnes, 48, Indianapolis
HANCOCK COUNTY — An Indianapolis man is facing serious felony drug dealing crimes after officials found methamphetamine, cocaine, money and digital scales in a vehicle he was in following a traffic stop Aug. 15.
Jeffery L Barnes, 48, has been charged with a Level 2 felony count of dealing methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony count of dealing cocaine, a Level 4 felony count of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 4 felony count of possession of cocaine, a Class B misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana and a Class C misdemeanor count of possession of paraphernalia.
Barnes had an initial appearance in Hancock County Circuit Court Aug. 21 where Magistrate Cody Coombs set a $30,000 cash bond and ordered Barnes to make another appearance in court in late October.
According to a probable cause affidavit, an official with the Greenfield Police Department conducted a traffic stop in the area of 500W and U.S. 40 on Aug. 15 where the plate on the vehicle returned to a driver who had a suspended driver’s license. An official from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department helped on the stop and noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle when he approached.
Officials asked the passenger in the vehicle to step out of the car on two separate occasions, the affidavit said. When the passenger would not, officials removed him from the vehicle. The passenger was identified as Barnes. Officials said they observed a tied plastic baggie containing a crystalline substance in the front right pocket of Barnes’ shorts.
The substance field-tested positive for methamphetamine, officials said. Barnes advised officials he is a methamphetamine user, the report stated. A search of the vehicle where Barnes was sitting noted officers found drugs, including a metal container that contained a trace amount (less than 1 gram) of white powder that later field-tested positive for cocaine.
Officials noted they also found a plastic baggie containing a green plant material that later field-tested positive for marijuana, and they also collected from Barnes a baggie that contained 21 grams of white, clumpy substance that later field-tested positive for cocaine.
Officials also located in a backpack $1,831 in various denominations, including $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 bills. A digital scale with white residue was also collected from a backpack, officials said in the report. The white residue on the scale field-tested positive for cocaine officials said.
The affidavit stated, from officer experience, the scale with cocaine residue, U.S. currency of various denominations and multiple baggies of narcotics in excess of a personal use amount are evidence of narcotics dealing. Officials noted the total amount of cocaine, 24 grams, and methamphetamine, 16 grams, is in excess of a typical user.
Law enforcement also found a gun in the vehicle that a female inside the car said was hers ,the report stated.
The woman in the vehicle, Ladonna Lanice Baker, 40, Indianapolis, was charged with a Level 5 felony count of unlawful carrying of a handgun-prior felony, possession of cocaine and a Class A misdemeanor count of giving a false identifying statement after she gave police a name that was not hers. Baker’s case was also opened in Circuit Court on Aug. 15. Court records show she was being held under a $4,000 cash bond.
