Men admit to dealing prescription narcotics

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GREENFIELD — Two Shirley men accused of selling painkillers out of their Shirley home will spend time on probation after accepting plea agreements from prosecutors, officials said.

Michael Johnson, 56, and Andrew Jones, 36, who shared a home at 423 N. Meridian St., accepted plea deals from prosecutors in which they agreed to plead guilty to drug-dealing charges, court records show.

Both were arrested in July at the conclusion of a six-week investigation by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department that ended with four men behind bars on felony charges.

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Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of dealing a narcotic drug as a Level 4 felony. He’ll serve 10 years on probation as part of the agreement with prosecutors, officials said.

Jones pleaded guilty to dealing a narcotic drug as a Level 5 felony. He’ll spend six years on probation, the first year of which will spent on home detention, officials said.

Two other Shirley men arrested in the raid have cases pending in Hancock County Superior Court 1: Jerry Conley, 100 S. First St., faces one Level 6 felony count of possession of a narcotic drug; Michael Clark, 408 N. White St., faces two counts of dealing a narcotic drug as a Level 5 felony and one count of maintaining a common nuisance as a Level 6 felony.

Detectives received a tip in early April about suspicious activity in the small town, located on the county’s northeast side.

Police began tailing Johnson, who they believed was providing Jones with prescription painkillers to sell to others, court records state.

Investigators said Johnson had prescriptions for both morphine and Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication.

Officers followed Johnson to a New Palestine pharmacy on April 7, where he was expected to pick up his medication, police said. They watched Johnson return with his medications to his car, where Jones was a passenger, records state.

They then followed both men home to Shirley and watched as they made their way to Conley’s residence, records state. Investigators suspected Conley planned to purchase the pills, court records state.

When police pulled Conley over later that day, they found 10 morphine pills — the same prescription Johnson picked up from the pharmacy, court documents state.

Conley told police he purchased the pills from Jones, investigators said.

Johnson was originally charged with two Level 6 felony counts of maintaining a common nuisance in addition to the Level 4 felony count of dealing a narcotic he pleaded guilty to, records show.

Level 4 felony counts carry penalties of two to 12 years.

Jones originally faced four Level 4 felony counts of dealing a narcotic and one Level 6 felony count of maintaining a common nuisance; Jones agreed to plead guilty to one count of dealing as a Level 5 felony.

Level 5 felony counts carry penalties of one to six years.