Jones to enter change of plea
GREENCASTLE -- An Indianapolis man charged with drug dealing has entered a guilty plea and will be sentenced in Putnam County Circuit Court on Jan. 14.
Zikimo Jones, 32, pled guilty to one charge of Class B felony dealing in a schedule I controlled substance. Under the terms of a plea agreement, an additional charge of Class B felony dealing in a controlled substance and a charge of Class D felony possession of a controlled substance were dropped in exchange for Jones' guilty plea.
Class B felonies are punishable by a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Jones was arrested April 27 along with Almez C. Bentley, 30, of Detroit. The men were apprehended during a traffic stop.
Bentley was the driver and Jones the passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over by Putnam County Sheriff's Department Lt. Dwight Simmons on I-70. Court records said Simmons stopped the vehicle because a license plate was not displayed.
A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded a quantity of the street drug ecstasy.
In August, motions to suppress evidence were filed in the cases against both men. According to court documents, attorneys for the men believed their clients -- both African-Americans -- had been victims of racial profiling. In the motion, attorneys Melinda Jackman-Hanlin and James Recker alleged that Simmons saw the license plate as soon as he approached the vehicle. The attorneys went on to say that the vehicle was improperly searched and that any drugs found should not have been able to be admitted into evidence.
Judge Matthew Headley denied the motions on Sept. 14.
Bentley pled guilty to Class B felony dealing in a controlled substance. On Dec. 3, he was sentenced to six years at the Indiana Department of Correction with three years executed, three years suspended and credit for 220 days served at the Putnam County Jail.
Jones has been lodged at the Putnam County Jail since his arrest. His bond was set at $20,000 cash.