Joshua Lavalle Hall, 38, Indianapolis
HANCOCK COUNTY — An Indianapolis man who was charged with multiple felony drug crimes after being found by law enforcement slumped over in his vehicle two years ago has been given a 10-year prison term after his case was closed in Hancock County Superior Court 1 earlier this week.
Joshua L. Hall, 38, was arrested in March 2022 and changed with a Level 2 count of dealing a narcotic drug, a Level 2 felony count of dealing meth, a Level 3 felony count of possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 3 felony count of possession of meth, a Level 6 felony charge of resisting law enforcement and three misdemeanor charges related to driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
While Hall was facing up to up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the most serious charges. However, the acceptance of the plea deal by Judge D.J. Davis called for the dismissal of both Level 2 felony charges, one of the Level 3 felony charges and two Class C misdemeanor charges.
Hall was given a 10-year term with seven years to be executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections while three years are to be suspended to probation for a Level 3 felony count of possession of methamphetamine. Court records note that Hall may petition the court to modify his sentence after successful completion of the Recovery While Intoxicated program.
Hall was also given a two-year term for the Level 6 felony count of resisting law enforcement to run concurrent with the previous term. He was then sentenced to a 365 day term for a Class A misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and that term is also to run concurrent with the other sentences.
A probable cause affidavit states an off-duty officer found a vehicle driven by Hall stopped at a traffic light with the driver, later identified as Hall, passed out behind the wheel around 4:15 a.m. March 10, 2022 at the intersection of West Broadway and West Garden Streets in Fortville.
When officers tried to shine a light and wake up Hall, the vehicle started to roll, officials stated in the affidavit. The vehicle continued to roll through the intersection before coming to a stop in a grass embankment on the south side of West Broadway, officials said in the report.
When officers finally got Hall to put the car in park and interact with them, Hall told officers he had nothing to drink and that the “DJ was driving and he took over,” the affidavit said. Hall then put the car into drive and took off, officers stated in the affidavit. They caught up with him shortly after near S. McCarty and West Broadway Streets, officials said in the report.
Officials from the Fortville and McCordsville police departments conducted an official stop and were able to find a sack with some 50 pills on Hall, weighing in at 18 grams, the report stated. Inside the vehicle, they found two scales, eight packages containing what officials believed to be THC edibles, an open box of Ziplock bags and multiple THC nerd candy packages that were empty.
Hall blew a preliminary breath test of .144 and then a .16 at the jail, officials noted in the affidavit. In Indiana, as in the rest of the nation, if a person has a BAC of 0.08%, they are not permitted to drive. Hall told officials he owned a CBD business and had drank Dusse cognac earlier in the night, the affidavit said.
