Cocaine sentencing delayed until January

An Evansville man will be sentenced for a Class C felony charge of possession of cocaine on Jan. 22.

Robert A. Jackson, 49, was set to be in Putnam County Circuit Court on Thursday to plead guilty to the charge and be sentenced, but the cause was continued by agreement of all parties, court records said.

Jackson was originally charged with Class A felony dealing in cocaine and Class C felony possession of cocaine. In exchange for his guilty plea to the lesser charge, the dealing charge was dropped.

Jackson's prior criminal history includes charges for battery and fraud.

A Class C felony is punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Jackson was arrested on March 15 by Putnam County Sheriff's Department Deputy Dwight Simmons after Simmons stopped the black Escalade Jackson was driving near the 40-mile marker on I-70 in Cloverdale Township due to plate light housings on the vehicle that needed bulbs replaced.

In his report, Simmons noted that Jackson and his passenger, Kathy Wellmeier, 57, were both "appeared extremely nervous." Simmons called Deputy Craig Sibbitt, who had a K9 drug dog with him, for backup.

According to court documents, the dog alerted the officers to the "presence of narcotic odor on both the driver's door seam as well as the passenger side door seam."

Officers initiated a search of Jackson's vehicle and discovered about four ounces of cocaine in the center console, court documents said.

Jackson told officers he had had a cocaine addiction for about 10 years and that he did not intend to sell the drugs.