Kendra Renne Bewley
HANCOCK COUNTY — Three people who local officials say committed a seriously felony drug crime in the county in 2020 have officially been charged in Hancock County Circuit Court after the charges were delayed due to issues associated with COVID restrictions.
Kendra Renne Bewley, 36, Indianapolis; Shante Monique Hurt, 38, Indianapolis; and Antonio Depriest Gary, 37, Bloomington, are all facing a Level 3 felony count of possession of methamphetamine of 28 or more grams from an incident in September of 2020. The crime carries anywhere from three to 16 years in prison.
According to court records, Bewley made her initial appearance in court Wednesday, July 19 where Judge Scott Sirk set $2,000 cash bond and a $10,000 surety bond after entering a not guilty plea on Bewley’s behalf.
Court records show a warrant was issued for Bewley, Hurt and Gary back in May of this year when the case was officially opened.
Gary had his initial appearance in late May and has since bonded out of the county jail while Hurt had her initial appearance in early July and has also bonded out.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials from the Greenfield Police Department were called to the Speedway Gas Station, 815 W Main Street Sept. 7, 2020 after getting a call saying three occupants in a vehicle were passed out.
Officials noted two females and one male were in the car which had a handgun inside of it as well. While Gary was transported to Hancock Regional Hospital, the two females began to regain consciousness, the officers noted in the report.
The police stated neither of the women knew they were in Greenfield and said they were trying to get to Cumberland, the affidavit said. After smelling marijuana coming from the vehicle officials say they searched the car and found a purse which contained a baggie with a rock-like substance inside. The substance field-tested positive as methamphetamine and weighed 112.1 grams.
The women were also found to be intoxicated, officials noted in the report. However, the jail would not take any of them in at the time due to COVID restrictions so they, along with Gary, who was at the hospital, were given summons to appear. The person who was assigned the case from the prosecutor’s office did not work on it and the case got caught up in the system, prosecutor Brent Eaton noted as reason for the delay in official charges.
“Things were a bit off because admissions to the jail were restricted at that time,” Eaton said. “Subsequently, we had the ability to audit what people were doing, found it, and then got it together and filed after which it remained on warrant status for a while.”
Court records show Gary and Bewley had a pre-trial conferences this week while Hurt is due back in court for a pre-trial conference in September. Officials from the Sheriff’s Department noted that Hurt was never officially brought into the local jail for processing as her warrant was recalled.
