A Jackson County man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to dealing in methamphetamine.
F. Regnal Harris, 29, of Seymour was sentenced by Jackson Circuit Judge Richard W. Poynter after the judge accepted Harris’ guilty plea to the Class B felony charge.
Other charges against Harris were dropped as part of a plea agreement, including a Class B felony charge of manufacturing/delivering or financing the manufacture or delivery of methamphetamine and three Class D felonies of possession of methamphetamine, receiving stolen auto parts and maintaining a common nuisance.
A misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia also was dismissed, according to court documents.
The charges against Harris stem from an investigation that began June 3, 2013, when Indiana State Police Trooper Jared Black went to the residence of Harris and his girlfriend at Little Acres on State Road 11 after receiving a report that a stolen motorcycle had been seen on the property, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Black said that, when he arrived, there were five people at the residence with Harris. There also were five vehicles on the property with some of them containing miscellaneous items, including construction equipment that he thought might have been stolen, Black reported.
After speaking with some of the people, police noticed behaviors common for people under the influence of narcotics, Black said.
All six people, including Harris, admitted to smoking methamphetamine, and police began an investigation that included the Indiana State Police Methamphetamine Suppression Unit, according to court documents.
Police searched the garage and found a stolen van and Yamaha motorcycle, which recently had been reported missing to the Seymour Police Department, Black said.
In the basement of the residence, police found more than 3 grams of crystal methamphetamine, plastic bags, a digital scale and a torch tip — all items associated with dealing, Black said. Two glass smoking devices also were found, and 15 cellphones were seized.
Black said officers also discovered a burn pile near an alley that contained the remains of precursors associated with manufacturing meth.
Other stolen items found on the property included a Honda inverter, a cash register and a pressure washer. Police also reported finding a .45-caliber handgun, a drill and a knife in one of the vehicles on the property. That vehicle also had been reported stolen in Seymour, Black said.
The investigation led police to another residence in Seymour, where more stolen property and further evidence of dealing methamphetamine were found, according to court documents.
Poynter ordered Harris to serve the 10-year sentence after serving another 10-year sentence he received Feb. 6 in a separate case involving dealing in methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony. That conviction stems from an incident that occurred July 7, 2014.
Two years of the first sentence were suspended and will be spent on supervised probation, according to court documents.
Harris received 189 days credit and 189 days of credit time on the most recent sentence.