Three men and a drug case in Superior Court

Whether three's a crowd or a three-ring circus, Judge Pro Tem Trudy Selvia made fast work of dealing with a trio of Californians facing a series of drug charges in Putnam Superior Court this week.

Conducting an unusual initial hearing dealing with the suspects in three-at-once fashion, Selvia entered not-guilty pleas to all charges for all three men arrested June 2 when their eastbound box truck was stopped by Indiana State Police on Interstate 70 near Cloverdale.

Items confiscated from California men after Interstate 70 traffic stop near Cloverdale last week.

Driver David Marriott, 30, of Bellflower, Calif., and his passengers, Paul Olaechea, 26, of Commerce, Calif., and Jordan Pollard, 25, of Los Angeles, are each facing six drug-related counts, including five felonies apiece.

The charges against them include possession of such narcotics as MDMA (more commonly known as the street drug Molly), LSD and psilocyn along with alleged possession of cocaine, methamphetamine and psychedelic mushrooms.

Those specific charges are:

-- Possession of the narcotic drug psilocyn (derived from psychedelic mushrooms), a Level 3 felony.

-- Possession of cocaine, a Level 4 felony.

-- Possession of the narcotic drug MDMA (Molly), a Level 5 felony.

-- Possession of the Schedule I drug LSD, a Level 6 felony.

-- Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony.

-- Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long told the court the maximum sentence for each suspect would be 16 years in prison.

The three men were each ordered held on $25,000 cash-only bond -- as recommended by the Putnam County Prosecutor's Office -- with a higher-than-usual bond due to the level of their offenses and the fact they have no ties to Indiana, Judge Selvia explained.

The case unfolded as Trooper Yan Dravigne, the ISP commercial vehicle enforcement officer, made the 4:33 p.m. June 2 traffic stop after reportedly observing the white Ford box truck impeding the flow on traffic near the 41-mile marker on I-70.

During a commercial vehicle inspection of the truck and conversations with the three occupants, Dravigne reported noticing indicators of possible criminal activity, mostly notably loose plant material he determined to be marijuana.

"While speaking with Pollard, I observed loose plant material consistent with the characteristics of marijuana in plain view on a dark jacket on the front seat," Dravigne said in the probable cause affidavit filed in the case.

Dravigne said he asked the suspect, "What is that on your jacket? Is that weed?"

Pollard reportedly replied, "Aaahh ... that is ... that, yeah."

He then voluntarily handed the trooper the marijuana which provided Dravigne probable cause to believe that "criminal activity was afoot."

A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded 255 grams of psychedelic mushrooms; 17 grams of cocaine; 16 grams of marijuana; one gram of methamphetamine; six grams of MDMA; 11 sublingual hits of acid; 175 Schedule II controlled substance prescription tablets; $340 cash and assorted drug paraphernalia.

The California men were also reportedly cited for several federal motor carrier safety violations.

Following their combined initial court hearing Monday afternoon, the men were returned to the Putnam County Jail, pending a pretrial conference Aug. 10.