COLUMBUS, Ind. – Two men are in the Bartholomew County Jail for felony drug charges after their car was pulled over on Monday night, March 24.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) had been looking into Christopher Neal, 35, of Columbus, after receiving information that he was allegedly dealing drugs. Through their investigation, JNET gathered enough evidence to arrest him for dealing a controlled substance.
The Columbus Police Department (CPD) saw the suspect driving on Monday and initiated a traffic stop near Cherry and South Streets. A K-9 alerted to the odor of drugs.
During a subsequent search, CPD officers purportedly found over nine grams of substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, two grams of suspected meth, suspected marijuana, drug-related items, digital scales, and packaging material.
Neal was arrested for the preliminary charges of:
- Dealing a narcotic drug (level 3 felony)
- Dealing methamphetamine (level 3 felony)
- Possession of a narcotic drug ( level 5 felony)
- Possession of meth (level 5 felony)
- Possession of paraphernalia (C misdemeanor)
Neal-Courtesy of CPD
The passenger, Leland Watson, 33, of Hope, was booked on the preliminary charges of:
- Possession of a narcotic drug (level 6 felony)
- Possession of meth (level 6 felony)
- Possession of marijuana (B misdemeanor)
- Possession of paraphernalia (C misdemeanor)
Watson-Courtesy of CPD
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 in Columbus and Bartholomew County. All suspects should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
