BROWNSTOWN — A Medora man who pleaded guilty to dealing methamphetamine as a Level 2 felony was sentenced to 18 years in prison Tuesday in Jackson Circuit Court.

Matthew Darren Thompson, 41, received that term from Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter during a sentencing hearing.

In May 2022, Lawrence County Prosecutor Samuel C. Arp II was chosen to be a special prosecutor in Jackson County in the case in which Thompson also had been charged as being a habitual offender.

On July 19, Thompson entered a plea agreement that called for him to plead guilty to dealing methamphetamine as a Level 2 felony.

Thompson will serve 12 years of the sentence with the Indiana Department of Correction, and six years will be served on probation in Jackson County.

The charges stem from an arrest that occurred on April 28, 2022, outside the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown, where Thompson was scheduled to arrive for a sentencing hearing on a separate criminal case, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Detective Matthew D. Powell of the Indiana State Police Drug Enforcement Section was on duty and working undercover in Jackson County and had previously met with Medora Town Marshal Jeff Walters to discuss arresting Thompson for previously dealing meth.

At that time, Thompson was a suspect in some Indiana State Police controlled buy cases.

Powell filed an affidavit with Jackson County Prosecutor Jeff Chalfant and received permission to conduct a warrantless arrest on Thompson.

When Thompson arrived at the judicial center, he was taken into custody by Walters without incident and escorted to the courtroom. At the conclusion of the hearing, Thompson was escorted to a marked police car, where he was seated in the front seat while wearing handcuffs.

Thompson was asked if he would be willing to provide a statement at the jail, and he agreed to an interview, according to the probable cause affidavit.

After Thompson was made aware of his rights, he went into detail regarding his participation in dealing meth, according to court records.

Thompson told investigators he began selling meth to support his habit and was selling a quarter of a pound of meth every two or three days.

Thompson said he would drive to Louisville, Kentucky, to pick up the meth and later provided the name of his supplier. He also told police he was supplying meth to approximately 10 people in Jackson, Bartholomew and Lawrence counties.

Thompson told police he had left illegal items in his mother’s vehicle and gave Walters permission to retrieve those items, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Walters collected numerous items of evidence that had been removed from Thompson’s mother’s vehicle and received a positive test for the presence of meth on multiple items, according to court records.

According to the probable cause, a preliminary weight of 16.51 grams of meth was acquired along with individually packaged amounts of meth, numerous new plastic bags, two cut plastic bags and loose meth on the scales. Marijuana and paraphernalia also were present in the property. Two blotter papers that were suspected to be LSD and located inside a telephone case when Powell was packaging evidence also were found.

The items were transported to the ISP Versailles Post and placed into evidence for safekeeping.

“Prosecutors from different counties will help each other out when a conflict arises in their office,” Arp said. “Agreeing to accept special appointments saves local tax dollars, and in this specific case, the defendant’s activities could have easily reached into the Lawrence County area since he resided in the Medora area.”

Arp also commended the law enforcement efforts by the Indiana State Police and Medora Police Department.