Sentencing set for Hoover

Friday, November 21, 2008

A Dec. 22 sentencing date has been set for a Greencastle man accused of having been involved in the Dec. 15, 2007 accidental death of a Greencastle High School senior.

Scotty B. Hoover, 24, was charged with Class A felony dealing in a schedule II controlled substance, Class B felony dealing in a schedule IV controlled substance and Class C felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor in connection with the death of 17-year-old Dietrich Jackson.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, the Class A felony charge against Hoover would be reduced to a B felony, and he would plead guilty to that charge along with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The dealing in a Class IV controlled substance count would be dropped.

The agreement also stipulates that sentencing will be left up to the court and that the two counts will run concurrently.

Judge Matthew Headley told Hoover and Hoover's attorney, Denny Bridges, that he would take the plea agreement under advisement.

Class B felonies are punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and the maximum sentence for a C felony is eight years. Should Hoover receive the maximum penalty for both charges, he could be out of prison in 10 years with Indiana good time credit.

Hoover was arrested on Jan. 17. His bond was set at $50,000 cash only, and he has remained in jail since his arrest.

Jackson died in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, 2007 after overdosing on prescription drugs the night before. Hoover is accused of providing some of the drugs -- Xanax and oxymorphone -- that led to Jackson's death.

Court records said Hoover crushed pills so Jackson could snort them. A juvenile who was with Jackson the night before Jackson died told police Jackson lost consciousness five or 10 minutes after snorting the pills and was in and out of consciousness over the next couple of hours.

Toxicology reports showed that Jackson had Tetrahydrocannabinol (the main psychoactive substance in marijuana, commonly referred to as THC), the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, the powerful semi-synthetic opioid analgesic oxymorphone and alcohol in his system at the time of his death.

Putnam County Coroner Thomas Miller said in January the oxymorphone, which is six to eight times more potent than morphine, was likely the cause of Jackson's death.

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  • This is so very sad. Both the Jackson families and the Hoover families are in my prayers.

    -- Posted by jvzcookie on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, at 6:37 AM
  • Who want's to bet Ol'Headley is gonna hang this one???????

    It is Hoovers fault in a way but it is not like he forced the kid to snort or take the pills!!!!!!

    -- Posted by Buck_Hunter_2008 on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, at 7:59 AM
  • what a mess, this is a lose,lose situation! the sad part other than the obvious, no one will learn from this!

    -- Posted by gottokno on Fri, Nov 21, 2008, at 11:22 AM
  • We don't arrest gas station attendants for selling cigarettes when someone dies of lung cancer. Some drugs are worse than others, in this case it sounds like a lot worse. I think some people are caught up on the fact that this person was a minor and that makes it worse. He was 17 and legally a 'minor', but I feel he was old enough to make wise decisions. I think if this would have happened to a 10 year old, it would be different, but it sounds like this person took these drugs on their own will; and therefore, assumed all risk in doing so.

    -- Posted by hoop2077 on Sun, Nov 23, 2008, at 5:52 PM
  • Let me open everyone's eyes a little bit concerning the people involved in this incident.

    You can't always believe what is written or what is told. However, isn't it interesting that the press when so many were concerned left it in the eyes of this community that Dietrich snorted those pills willingly. Well, shedding a little light it sure did shift focus. However, the toxologist in this case stated that there were no signs that he snorted anything. hmmmmm, now-does that make you wonder how those substances got in his system??? a drink perhaps???

    -- Posted by susie-q1 on Mon, Nov 24, 2008, at 9:12 AM
  • And by the way- so that all know, the family of Dietrich is not in anyway threatening anyone or making threats. They just want the truth to come out. There has been allegations that this family has made threats toward Hoover and his family and his lawyer and the prosecutor and these allegations for the record are false. The Jackson family is trusting the judicial system of Putnam County, the judge, the prosecutor, and the investigators, to be forthright and bring out the truth of all matters including pinpointing the time of death and prosecuting ALL involved that were negligent. May GOd be with all the families through this.

    -- Posted by susie-q1 on Tue, Nov 25, 2008, at 9:58 AM
  • Whether Dietrich tok the drugs willingly or not.....Dealing drugs is still illegal and that's what Hoover did.

    -- Posted by indtonyc on Sat, Nov 29, 2008, at 11:36 AM
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