Kevin L. Robinson will spend 10 years in prison if the plea deal he signed is accepted in Hancock County Superior Court 1 later this summer.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A man who was caught with heroin and synthetic marijuana in a vehicle along Interstate-70 in the winter of 2021 will spend a decade in prison if the plea agreement he signed is accepted by a judicial official in Hancock County Superior Court 1.
Kevin Luther Robinson, 54, Columbus, Ohio, signed a plea agreement that states he will admit guilt to a Level 2 felony count of dealing a narcotic drug. He will receive a 10-year term with all 10 years to be served in prison if the deal is accepted later this summer.
The agreement states the rest of the charges against Robinson, a Level 3 felony count of possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 2 felony count of dealing in a schedule I controlled substance and a Level 6 felony count of possession of a controlled substance, will be dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Magistrate Cody Coombs conducted a change of plea hearing held in Superior Court 1 Thursday, June 2 and accepted the guilty plea. A sentencing hearing is slated for Thursday, July 21.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Robinson was stopped by the Indiana State Police on eastbound Interstate 70 near the 95-mile marker in Hancock County on Jan. 28, 2021. Upon running Robinson’s information, the state police officer learned of a warrant for Robinson out of Lawrence County, Ohio, for drug trafficking.
State police troopers who later arrived reported smelling the odor of marijuana coming from Robinson’s vehicle, and one reported seeing rolling papers in the vehicle. A K-9 gave a positive alert to the odor of narcotics, the affidavit states.
A search of the vehicle revealed a backpack in the vehicle’s trunk holding a wrapped-up sock containing a plastic bag with two bags of a beige, rock-like substance. That substance field-tested positive for heroin and weighed about 60 grams, according to the affidavit.
Also inside the backpack was a plastic grocery bag holding 12 plastic bags containing more than 450 grams of a plant-like material Robinson identified as a synthetic cannabinoid called spice or K2.
According to the affidavit, Robinson said he didn’t know anything about the heroin but went to Chicago to get the spice and that someone must have put the heroin in the bag.
The Hancock County Jail could not accommodate Robinson at the time due to COVID-19 restrictions, so he was jailed in Marion County. Robinson was booked in the Hancock County Jail on Thursday, March 18 with a $12,000 cash bond.
The affidavit states Robinson’s criminal history includes many arrests and convictions for possession and dealing narcotics, including a 2013 federal court conviction in West Virginia for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine.
