Speeding driver facing gun and drug charges

0
1282

Anthany Dionta Brown, 26, Indianapolis

HANCOCK COUNTY — A driver speeding through Greenfield ended up in the county jail after officials found him to be in possession of drugs and a gun, which law enforcement said he should not have.

Anthany Dionta Brown, 26, Indianapolis, has been charged with a Level 4 felony count of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony count of unlawful carrying of a handgun with a prior felony conviction with in the last 15 years, and three Class A misdemeanors, including driving while suspended.

Brown made his initial appearance in Hancock County Superior Court 1 Tuesday, May 16 where Judge D.J. Davis entered a not guilty plea on all counts and set a cash bond of $6,000. Davis also granted the state’s request for a 15-day hold on Brown. Brown is due back in court June 7 for a status hearing on his case.

According to a probable cause affidavit, a Greenfield Police Department officer was making a routine patrol, heading westbound in the 500 block of West Main Street on May 12, when the officer observed a passenger vehicle traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed. The officer turned the patrol car around and then pulled the car over after not being able to read the temporary plate.

The officer noted in the report that while speaking with Brown in the 100 block of West Main Street, the officer noticed a “very strong odor” recognized from training and experience as a law enforcement officer to be raw marijuana, the affidavit said.

The official also observed a small plastic bag containing plant-like material located next to the gear shift handle in the center console to be raw marijuana, the officer noted in the report.

The officer called for backup and while waiting Brown asked if he could talk with the passenger in the car, a woman, and the officer said “yes,” but asked Brown to leave his window down. The officer then noticed Brown was texting something about a Glock 23 (handgun), the report stated. Brown then texted, “say it’s yours” in reference to the handgun, the officer noted.

Officials located (15 grams) of a plant-like material, one plastic bag that field tested positive for THC (11 grams), a multicolored plastic bag labeled CBD flower, a plastic bag containing multicolored broken tablets in a rock/powder-like form that field tested positive for methamphetamine (9.5 grams), a Glock 23 .40 caliber handgun (pistol) with one bullet in the chamber and a fully loaded magazine located in the center console, and one opened box of “sandwich” bags and one digital scale, the report stated.

A check of Brown’s records showed he was a convicted felon for carrying a firearm without a license and also showed he has a pending Level 3 felony criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon charge as well as several other felony charges pending in Marion County.

While Brown would not talk to officials, he did tell them the gun was not his but belonged to the woman in the car. The woman who was with Brown when he was arrested did not make a statement and was released from the scene, the report said.