April 4, 2014
Brandon Shakelford, 23, of Fort Wayne, was sentenced Wednesday in Marshall Superior Court 1 to ten years imprisonment for manufacturing methamphetamine directly across the street from Sunnyside Park in Bremen, a Class B felony. In open court, Shakelford had previously admitted he manufactured and possessed methamphetamine on May 19, 2013 at a home on East St. in Bremen.
Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman and defense attorney Tom Black, which provided for a sentence at the Indiana Department of Corrections of 10 years of imprisonment. Four years of the sentence was suspended, and the defendant is afforded the opportunity to participate in intensive drug rehabilitation through purposeful incarceration.
The case began when the tenant of the home called Bremen Police at approximately 3:30 pm on May 19 to report that two individuals came to her home with drugs, and then began manufacturing methamphetamine. She only knew the two individuals by their first names. She had ordered the two individuals to leave her residence, but they refused.
Sgt. Trent Stouder of the Bremen Police Department was the first to arrive at the residence. The tenant described the situation and gave Stouder permission to enter the home and “do what you have to do.” Stouder entered through the front door and walked through the residence and became overwhelmed with chemical odors. He left the premises to get his breath and met with Officer Bruce Gadziola. After regrouping, both officers re-entered the home and found Shackelford and Raymond VanBlaricom in the bathroom with a one pot lab actively producing methamphetamine. Numerous parts of the manufacturing process were also located in the bathroom. Both individuals were arrested and have been in jail since. VanBlaricom was previously sentenced to twelve years of imprisonment, with no time suspended.
This is Shakelford’s first offense which justified a lighter sentence than what VanBlaricom received.
Chipman lauded the tenant for calling the police for assistance and reporting the suspected manufacturing operation. “The quick action of the Bremen PD also deserves the community’s gratitude.”