Sculley
A Jackson County woman who admits to dealing in a narcotic that led to the death of a Columbus man has thrown herself on the mercy of the court.
In Bartholomew Superior Court 1, Tiffany Marie Sculley, 35, of Brownstown pleaded guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 5 felony.
On Monday, Sculley provided Judge James Worton with an open guilty plea, meaning the defendant is admitting her guilt without any promise from the prosecution as to what sentence it will recommend.
Defendants sometimes reject offers from the state and choose open pleas in the hope that they’ll receive a better sentence than they would under the prosecution’s proposal. Sculley’s sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Feb. 20.
Both Sculley and co-defendant Ryan Self, 35, of Seymour were arrested in connection with the death of Ronald Lee Smith, 37, of Columbus.
On July 8, 2022, Smith’s body was found within a tent in a homeless camp along a walking path near Tellman Camp Road, north of Mill Race Park in Columbus. The autopsy indicated he accidentally died of acute fentanyl intoxication.
Through various investigative techniques, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team was able to identify Self as a suspect, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman. During the course of the investigation, Sculley also was identified as a suspect.
Self was scheduled for a change of plea hearing Monday, but he is currently incarcerated after his probation in Jackson Circuit Court was revoked in November 2022. He is serving a nearly two-year sentence on an original charge of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
Worton has scheduled a new change of plea hearing for Self to begin at 10 a.m. April 22, a pre-trial conference at 11 a.m. May 6 and a tentative jury trial to begin at 8:30 a.m. May 21.