Eric K. Anderson is expected to have a plea deal accepted by court officials that will give him an eight-year term with two years to be exectuted in prison and six served on probation.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A man facing serious felony drug charges with penalties up to 30 years in prison has admitted guilt to a lesser charge after the state and his defense settled on a plea agreement in his case.
Eric K. Anderson, 46, has withdrawn his not guilty plea and entered a plea of guilty to a Level 3 felony charge of dealing methamphetamine.
If the plea agreement is accepted by Judge Scott Sirk in Hancock County Circuit on Thursday, June 30 during a formal sentencing hearing, Anderson will be given an eight-year term with two years to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections and six years served on formal probation. As a condition of probation, the defendant shall serve two years on Community Corrections Home Detention, court documents state.
Level 3 felony charges are punishable by up to 16 years in prison with nine years being the norm.
Anderson, his attorney and the state, Michelle Wade deputy prosecutor, signed the paperwork on the plea agreement Thursday, May 19 during a change of plea hearing.
The remaining charges in the case will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement. However, if accepted, the sentence will run consecutive to another case against Anderson in Circuit Court where he’s facing a Level 5 felony charge for possession of meth from an incident in July 2020.
Anderson was originally arrested for multiple drug crimes in October 2020 from an incident in September 2020, court records show. He was originally charged with a Level 2 felony count of dealing meth, a Level 4 felony count of possession of meth, a Level 6 felony count of possession of a controlled substance and a Class A misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department, law enforcement had their eyes on Anderson for several months after they had learned he was suspected of dealing drugs in the county.
In July, 2020 officials observed Anderson’s residence, which led to a traffic stop that yielded the seizure of approximately 1/4 oz of methamphetamine, the records state. In September 2020, officials conducted a traffic stop in the 1600 block of North State Street for Anderson having a hand-written plate that was not legible. During the stop, officials found a silver handgun. Anderson did not have a license to carry handgun, officials noted in their report.
During the search of the underside of Anderson’s car, officials located a black magnetic box. The box contained two baggies with approximately 17.5 grams of crystal substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine, a small bag containing suspected marijuana, a plastic wrapper containing tablets believed to be controlled substances, and a black digital scale. Also in the bag were two small baggies that are commonly used to distribute small amounts of narcotics, the report stated.
A search of Anderson’s trailer revealed a box for a digital scale that had a photo of the same scale that was discovered in the black box under the vehicle on the traffic stop. Officials also located a bag that contained multiple (10s) of small zip lock baggies which matched the ones from the black box, the report stated.
The case against Anderson was first opened in October, 2020. He was scheduled for a jury trial in April, but the change of plea was put forth and signed in mid-May.
