James F. Cochran
HANCOCK COUNTY — One of the two Indianapolis men arrested last summer for drug crimes after they were found traveling at a high rate of speed in a vehicle with a broken window through a neighborhood in New Palestine has been sentenced.
James F. Cochran, 33, 1000 block of Harlan Street, had been charged with a Level 4 felony count of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony count of unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony count of resisting law enforcement and a Class C misdemeanor charge of paraphernalia from the June 11, 2023 incident.
As part of a plea deal accepted in Hancock County Circuit Court, Cochran admitted guilt to the Level 4 felony and was given a three-year term while the other three charges were dismissed.
Judge Scott Sirk noted Cochran gets credit for 215 days of jail time served while 595 days were suspended. That left 300 days to be served in jail with 200 days committed to home detention.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials received a call last summer regarding a suspicious, older, red, four-door Ford Focus with a smashed-out window. The caller stated the vehicle left the Willow Grove neighborhood traveling at a high rate of speed, heading northbound on CR 700W in the area of CR 300S after it was noticed by a couple in the neighborhood.
Following a chase by multiple law enforcement officials, police conducted what they called a “high risk” stop and identified Cochran as the driver.
Officials found a black beretta apx BB gun with tape on the grip under the driver’s seat, two spice blunts, a pouch with several narcotic items including a glass pipe containing a white residue, a clear baggy containing a significant amount of a white crystal that field-tested positive as methamphetamine, used hypodermic syringes and a set of digital scales, among other drugs and paraphernalia, the report stated.
Joshua D. Lovitt, 34, 100 block of North Water Street, Anderson, who was in the car, was also charged in the incident and is facing a Level 4 possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony count of unlawful possession of a syringe and a Class C misdemeanor count of paraphernalia. His case is still making it through the court system.
Lovitt’s case is set for a pretrial conference Jan. 30 in Circuit Court.
