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Meth dealing suspect released awaiting hearing
Sometimes the court of public opinion gets to be overruled by the court of compassion.
And that seemed to happen earlier this week in Putnam Superior Court when a 26-year-old Morgan County man charged with dealing in methamphetamine in a 2013 case, was released from Putnam County Jail while awaiting a Dec. 17 change-of-plea hearing.
Daniel Sparks of Camby was arrested Sept. 10, 2013 when authorities stopped the pickup truck in which he and two Putnam County acquaintances were traveling at the Clark gas station lot on Washington Street in Greencastle.
While his two passengers were later released and not cited in the incident, Sparks was subsequently charged with dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Class C felony; and possession of a handgun without a permit, a Class A misdemeanor.
The state also filed paperwork to add another five years to any resulting sentence for Sparks due to his possession of a handgun during the commission of a crime.
During a hearing Wednesday in Superior Court, authorities agreed to a motion to reset Sparks' bond, which he initially had revoked in August after being released by posting 10 percent of the initial $30,000 cash bond on which he was originally held.
"We think we have a plea agreement that will split DOC (Department of Correction) time and home detention time," Deputy Putnam County Prosecutor Justin Long told the court, adding that Sparks has been approved for home detention in both Marion and Putnam counties.
But there is more to the case than that.
A veteran who was disabled while serving his country, Sparks has also been facing a parent's worst nightmare as his 18-month-old daughter is in intensive care at an Indianapolis hospital with a reported 50 percent prognosis for survival, the court was told.
The defendant's Indianapolis attorney, Dylan Vigh, told Judge Denny Bridges that the time Sparks has already spent in the Putnam County Jail has been well served.
Sparks has learned firsthand the impact of meth, Vigh said, and how it "leads one direction -- to despair and destitution."
With no prior felony convictions, Sparks simply "got off track," the attorney reasoned.
It's even more complicated than that, Vigh added.
"And he lost a leg in the service, so he knows commitment," Vigh added.
Judge Bridges thanked Sparks for his service and offered words of concern for the man's young daughter.
"You're being released today," the judge explained, "so you can be with your daughter. Good luck to you and her."
Sparks was arrested 14 months ago when a half-pound of methamphetamine was found under the seat of the 2003 Ford pickup in which he was a passenger.
Sparks, told investigating officers that earlier that day he had stolen the meth from an Indianapolis residence, while taking a .25-caliber Raven Arms handgun at the same time and place.
His arrest was the result of a routine traffic stop about 11:30 p.m. after Greencastle City Police Officer Matt Huffman noticed the black Ford pickup with an inoperable license plate light turning eastbound onto Washington Street off Jackson Street.
In a subsequent search of the pickup, police discovered 205 grams of methamphetamine with its reported $5,800 street value, along with approximately $1,700 in cash and two loaded handguns.