September 5, 2013
09/06/13 Jamie Edward Sullivan, 42, of Plymouth was sentenced on Thursday, August 29 in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to 10 years imprisonment for possession of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of an elementary school, a Class B felony.
Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman and defense attorney Douglas N. Hite, which provided for a sentence at the Indiana Department of Corrections of 10 years of imprisonment. No part of the sentence was suspended.
The investigation began on April 15, 2013, when the Indiana State Police received a tip on the Indiana State Police Facebook page of several people manufacturing methamphetamine in the Plymouth area. One of the persons mentioned was Jamie Sullivan.
Office John Weir tracked Sullivan down and found him living in the 700 block of Oakhill Avenue. Weir and State Police Trooper Jason Faulstich began observing the house and noted a large number of people coming and going. Background checks for the visitors to the house proved several had prior arrests and meth related convictions, and were actively purchasing pseudoephedrine based products, which are a necessary ingredient for the manufacturing of methamphetamine. The national database log showed Sullivan alone had purchased pseudoephedrine based products 38 times over a 15 month period at three different pharmacies in two counties.
Other investigative techniques were employed that resulted in the drafting of a search warrant affidavit that was approved by Judge Dean A. Colvin on May 17, 2013. A concerted search of Sullivan’s residence occurred on May 21, 2013 that resulted in the arrest of seven adults. Four young children were taken into custody by the Department of Child Protective Services. Found throughout the home were numerous items related to the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
In open court, Sullivan admitted to the allegations made in the numerous charges against him and plead guilty to possession methamphetamine within one thousand feet of an elementary school, which is a Class B felony. All remaining counts were dismissed as a result of the plea agreement.
Chipman noted that “in a perverse way, law enforcements’ laser focus on meth cooks had an effect in this case. Mr. Sullivan acknowledged that although he had been using meth for approximately 4 years, he had only been manufacturing meth for about 9 months because all of his friends were getting put in jail for manufacturing, so he decided to do it himself.” Chipman reported that in the end, Sullivan admitted “I am glad I got arrested.”