COLUMBUS, Ind. – The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) on Monday closed an investigation into the alleged dealing of fentanyl which resulted in two arrests. During the investigation, Torien Thornton, 19, of Bloomington, was identified as a supposed retail distributor of large amounts of counterfeit Oxycodone pills, which may contain fentanyl.
The local investigation began when JNET discovered that she was allegedly intending to distribute narcotics to residents of Bartholomew County. Over several days more than 200 counterfeit pills were seized by JNET.
In a joint effort between JNET and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, Thornton was taken into custody during a traffic stop in Nashville. A passenger in the vehicle, Aireana Brandon, 19, of Bloomington, was arrested for possession of marijuana. Also in the car was Thornton’s three-year-old child who was in the presence of the narcotics at the time of the arrests. The Department of Child Services was contacted and a case manager responded to ensure the welfare of the child.
Thornton was booked into the Brown County Jail on the charges of dealing in a narcotic drug (level 2 felony) and neglect of a dependent (level 5 felony). She remains in custody on a $60,000 bond and faces 10 to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections if convicted of the offenses.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, is proactively targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs. This aggressive narcotics enforcement not only occurs in Bartholomew County but will be pursued anywhere where narcotics have an effect on the residents of Bartholomew County.
Torien Thorton-Courtesy of JNET
