Gavin Pine was sentenced to several years in prison for gun and drug crimes.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A man facing 12 crimes in all, including a Level 2 felony count of dealing drugs, had nine of the charges, including the most serious, dismissed following the acceptance of a plea agreement.
Gavin William Pine, 25, 4600 block of N. Fortville Pike, had his case settled Thursday, June 16 in Hancock County Circuit Court. As part of the deal, Pine admitted guilt to three charges — a Level 4 felony count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 5 felony count of dealing in marijuana and a Level 5 felony count of corrupt business influence, the agreement states.
Judge Scott Sirk accepted the deal and sentenced Pine to a 12-year term for the Level 4 felony gun charge with eight years to be executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections and four years suspended to probation. Pine was also given a six-year term for each of the Level 5 felony charges with four years executed and two suspended to formal probation, the agreement states.
The Hancock County terms will run concurrent. However, they will run consecutive to a prior sentence he received out of Boone County where he was given a four-year term there for a robbery and other misdemeanor drug crimes, court records state.
As part of the Hancock County plea, Pine must also complete a recovery while incarcerated program and serve at least four years in prison before he may petition the court for a modification of his sentence, the plea states.
Pine got himself in hot water when law enforcement officials from Boone County made a field visit on Pine, who was on probation there but was suspected of selling drugs while staying in Hancock County in August 2021. Pine was advertising drugs via social media using videos and photos, including one photo with the caption “Come get ya weed n needs from you’re (sic) Favorite dealer,” a probable cause affidavit said.
Pine told local investigators when he was arrested here he had been on home detention for about about two months for previous crimes out of Boone County, including robbery, possession of a controlled substance, and resisting law enforcement, the affidavit stated.
Investigators in Hancock County already had been conducting surveillance on the Fortville Pike residence Pine was staying at and noted multiple vehicles coming and going from it, the affidavit said. They had identified Pine as the resident and suspected drug trafficking was occurring there, the affidavit said.
A search of the home turned up a wide range of drugs, including approximately 600 tablets of hydrocodone, 12 tablets of OxyContin, a quantity of psilocybin mushrooms and more than 2 pounds of marijuana. The search also turned up more than 20 pounds of vaping cartridges and a quantity of prescription medication.
Investigators also found drug paraphernalia and more than $14,000 in cash, and three firearms also were taken from the residence.
