Caleb Zachary Hollett, 22, of Argos, was sentenced on June 24 in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to a total of 10 years imprisonment at the Indiana Department of Correction for dealing methamphetamine as a Class B Felony and conspiracy to deal in methamphetamine as a Level 4 Felony. Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami Napier and defense attorney Joseph Simanski of Plymouth. The Level 4 Felony resulted in a four year sentence and the Class B felony was a 6 year sentence with the two sentences ordered to run consecutively. Two years of the Class B felony sentence was suspended giving Hollett an eight year executed sentence.
In open court, Hollett admitted that on May 27, 2014, he sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant in Argos. Additionally, Hollett admitted that on October 8, 2014, he provided methamphetamine ingredients such as lithium, rock salt, cold packs (ammonium nitrate), drain cleaner (sulfuric acid), and pseudoephedrine for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. In exchange for the guilty plea to the two most serious charges, the remaining counts were dismissed.
The case began on May 27, 2014, when Hollett individually sold .7 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant at the intersection of Maple Street and Plum Street in Argos. During the transaction, Hollett boasted that he did not cut his product with other ingredients making his methamphetamine “pure” and “not [the] powdery stuff.”
While Hollett was still being investigated for dealing meth in May, Marshall County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Cooper observed a vehicle without proper illumination of the license plate and stopped the vehicle at approximately 1:44 a.m. on October 8, 2014 on US 31 near US 30. Caleb Hollett, Ethan Hollett, Jerald Standifer, and Samantha Personette were inside the car. Cooper could then see in plain view cold packs, a bag of rock salt, and a plastic bottle with white residue that he knew from his training and experience to be a one pot meth lab. An eventual search of the vehicle and the occupants revealed virtually all of the necessary ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine.
Ethan Hollett admitted his guilt to possessing chemical reagents or precursors with intent to manufacture a controlled substance and was sentenced to 1 ½ years in prison on March 25, 2015. Jerald Standifer admitted his guilt to manufacturing methamphetamine and was sentenced to 9 years in prison on April 2, 2015. Samantha Personette admitted her guilt to conspiracy to deal in methamphetamine and was sentenced to 6 years in prison on May 6, 2015.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman lamented his frustration noting that in August of 2013, Mr. Hollett was caught up in a serious meth manufacturing case in which the primary target was not Mr. Hollett, but a notorious local cook responsible for supplying and therefore addicting dozens of individuals on methamphetamine. Mr. Hollett gave essential testimony that resulted in the target being sentenced to over 20 years in prison for his misdeeds.”
Chipman recalled, “Mr. Hollett sat in my office and promised me that he was done with the world of meth and was turning his life around. In return for his cooperation and testimony he was sentenced to a mere 90 days in the Marshall County Jail for visiting a common nuisance. And five months later he is cooking and selling meth again. Five months!”
“Well,” Chipman added, “he is going to have several years now to think about what to do with the rest of his life.”
