Drug offender allowed to enter treatment program

Thursday, November 13, 2008

A Roachdale man who was supposed to appear in court Wednesday for a pretrial conference on a number of drug-related charges has been allowed to leave jail and enter a drug treatment program.

Charles W. McCarty II, 33, was to face charges of Class D felony possession of methamphetamine, class C misdemeanor operating while intoxicated and class A misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia, as well as a habitual offender designation. Additionally, those charges led to the revocation of probation, which McCarty was on as a result of July 2003 convictions on several charges, including dealing meth. At that time, he received a 20-year sentence with 14 years suspended and credit for 278 days served.

McCarty was released from prison in March. The violation of his probation could result in the reinstatement of any part of his suspended sentence.

Court documents said McCarty was found passed out and slumped over the steering wheel of a vehicle at C.R. 600E and C.R. 675N in the early morning hours of Sept. 12 by Putnam County Sheriff's Department Deputy Craig Sibbett.

"Upon making contact with Charles I noticed a beer can in the front passenger seat and some makeshift hose with tape and fittings and a red gas can in the back seat area," Sibbett wrote in his narrative. "Due to my training and experience and knowing the past history of the subject being a methamphetamine user and manufacturer of the product, these were precursors to make methamphetamine."

McCarty "was very unstable and could hardly walk," Sibbett wrote. Sibbett called for a tow truck to take McCarty's vehicle away and for medical personnel to evaluate McCarty.

"Due to the condition of the subject that appeared to be high on methamphetamine and the precursors in plain view and knowing the history of the subject of being high risk, he was placed in handcuffs for my safety," Sibbett wrote.

At that point, court documents said, Sibbett conducted an inventory of McCarty's vehicle. That search turned up "a metal tin box that contained several baggies with a white crystal substance and three baggies with about one gram of the white crystal substance with the bags tied in a knot," Sibbett said. Also found were cotton swabs, a pipe, a small amount of copper sulfate, a plastic gas tank that had a strong odor of anhydrous ammonia and a coffee filter.

"The white crystal substance was later field tested positive to be methamphetamine," Sibbett said.

In late October, McCarty was evaluated by Monica Kaufman of Valle Vista Health Systems in Greenwood.

"Based on Mr. McCarty's long standing addictions to drugs and alcohol, multiple failed treatment attempts, limited sober support system and mental health issues, out medical director, Dr. Vicki Burdine, recommends that Mr. McCarty be admitted to our inpatient unit as soon as he can be released from jail," Kaufman said in a letter to McCarty's attorney, Sidney Tongret. "Our facility is a locked facility and provides 24-hour nursing care."

The order for McCarty's release to treatment was signed by Putnam County Superior Court Judge Robert Lowe.

McCarty has also served prison time for intimidation, theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug, auto theft, receiving stolen auto parts and possession of precursors. The first record of him at the Indiana Department of Corrections Web site dates back to 1996.

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  • Meth, Meth, Meth. The modern day social plague. This man has obviousy fell victom to it's charms long ago to be this engulfed in his addiction. Recovering from meth is not like any other addiction.

    The evaluation provided by Valle Vista Health Systems, politely suggests that Mr. McCarty needs to be in a mental hospital. Since there no more such hospitals, Valle Vista conveniently has a facility to fit this mans needs.

    The order for McCarty's release to treatment was signed by Putnam County Superior Court Judge Robert Lowe. This is an extreme measure to be taken at this stage of addiction. He was high on meth, but appeared to be sleeping. GcastleFinest, he wasn't sleeping, you don't sleep when high on meth. More than likely, he had been up for days until his body fell unconscious.

    I hope this treatment helps him recover, but our system hasn't helped any and now is better than never.

    If you are reading this, and you know of anyone experimenting with meth, do any and everything to stop them. Addiction to this monster is as bad of news as cancer or heart disease. The difference is that we don't choose cancer or heart disease.

    -- Posted by Xgamer on Thu, Nov 13, 2008, at 6:39 AM
  • Treatment-not always is prison the answer. Too bad more folks don't get treatment instead of prison time.Wouldn't this be a community corrections issue in Putnam County?

    -- Posted by peace2019 on Thu, Nov 13, 2008, at 6:56 AM
  • Perhaps if he had been put in a treatment program much earlier that he would not have had a 20 yr sentence in 2003. Prison is not always the best option for drug offenders. Treatment programs instead of jail time would cut down of the prison population. His dad had a lot of faith in him. Maybe, he just needs another chance.

    (And I also have never heard of anyone sleeping while doing meth. I think what Officer Sibbett saw was the aftermathof doing it for days.)

    -- Posted by cloverlady on Thu, Nov 13, 2008, at 9:32 AM
  • If he were in prision he would be forced to be clean also. Why should he be allowed to go to treatment when he doesn't want to get clean or abide by the law? Save that spot for someone who wants to better themselves!

    -- Posted by nikkilpn on Thu, Nov 13, 2008, at 9:49 AM
  • I really don't care if he was asleep or passed out, he's been in the system for 12 years and has had his hand slapped repeatedly. Hard time should have been given early in his criminal career, not that he would have changed, we just wouldn't have to be preyed upon over and over by this loser. Now he gets yet another chance at our expense.... How about 2 strikes and you're out? I would gladly pay for that with my tax dollars. I think the most recently elected judge would maybe have chosen a sentence with more "teeth" in it..... hope so anyway.....! Enough is enough!

    -- Posted by Thomas Paine on Fri, Nov 14, 2008, at 8:02 AM
  • I worked in the jail while this man became a "regular" in the system. He's addicted to drugs of all sorts. He recieved medications that change you as a person if you do not "need" them. Possibly these things have changed since I left there but he's just going to continue this over and over again. He's a nuisance to society and past that, once he's caught, he'll do anything and say anything to get himself out of whatever it is he's in trouble for at that point. He's a snitch, steer clear of him, everyone!

    Rehab won't help him either, it will only put him back on the streets to manufacture meth again. Only about 7 percent of users ever really get clean. but good luck anyway

    -- Posted by cmg071580 on Sat, Nov 15, 2008, at 9:58 AM
  • Not to detract from officer sibbetts report, I would like to suggest this event may have happened just a little differently. Around 4 am (I have slept since then) on the morning in question The Floyd Township Fire dept was "toned out" to a possible dead person slumped over the wheel of a vehicle on CR 600e. The first person on scene was an EMT and after rousing the person behind the wheel, he noticed the can and hoses and tools inside the car. He then asked for Law enforcement to expedite their run as the person behind the wheel was becoming aggitated...

    I appreciate all the officers in Putnam County, there are so few and they do so much. This is not to detract from the job they do. I am just trying to give the volunteers a little credit also.

    -- Posted by fireman on Wed, Nov 19, 2008, at 12:17 PM
  • i believe that most offenders should be locked down in rehab, in real rehab, not where they have a few classes in a prison on recovery. i would be, as a tax payer, more comfortable with my tax dollars going for that kind of treatment, and sentence, than a stay in jail or prison, where the drugs are rampid. i don't think we should wait, however, til they have committed 5 different crimes. and in and out patient treatment is all about money, most court ordered outpatient druggy patients just tell the counselors what they want to hear, because those doing the drugs are naturally liars. i have found that community corrections sounds good, but its really just a burden on the inmates family.

    -- Posted by PmL on Thu, Nov 20, 2008, at 12:13 PM
  • You would think all the prison time this person has accumulated over the last 10years would be enough to sober him up. No, wait, let's milk the law abiding citizens for more and send him to drug treatment, that way next year he can be arrested for dealing meth to our kids!

    -- Posted by WTFRUthinkin on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, at 7:15 AM
  • First of all, none of you know this person as a human being, which he is. Never has he committed a crime that hurt someone, just himself. He went to detox, then rehab and yes one of you said he needs the psychological services worse than anything. How many of you have been severely beaten, raped, and tortured before age 2 and ongoing to adulthood? What do you think that does to a person? He is a loving man who just has a hard time dealing with the demons of his past. Oh and by the way his rehab DID NOT COST YOU PRECIOUS TAXPAYERS A DIME!! I paid for it because I believe in him and that he can overcome what his sick family has done to him.

    -- Posted by AddictsWife on Thu, Nov 19, 2009, at 5:45 PM
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