U.S. prosecutor to make federal case out of local charge

Prepared to appear at the Putnam County Courthouse on a 2017 drug case, a Fillmore man found himself arrested on federal charges for the same crime Wednesday afternoon.

Anthony Wayne Burnett, 28, now finds himself facing federal charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (in excess of 50 grams).

Burnett was arrested on the federal warrant by Maj. Dwight Simmons, the Putnam County sheriff’s deputy who originally arrested him on July 29, 2017 following a traffic stop in the Reelsville area.

Simmons initiated the stop and quickly noticed Burnett acting nervously. Simmons called for backup from Deputy Jacob Harrington, later utilizing K9 narcotics detection officer Bo, who indicated the presence of narcotics.

Inside the pickup truck, Simmons found a zip-lock baggy containing a crystal-like substance inside a styrofoam cup.

The substance field tested positive for methamphetamine and was discovered to have a weight of 116 grams or about four ounces.

Burnett was arrested and later charged by the Putnam County Prosecutor’s Office with Level 2 felony dealing in methamphetamine (at least 10 grams) and Level 3 felony possession of methamphetamine (at least 28 grams).

Burnett was set for a guilty plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday. However, he had not met some of the pre-sentence requirements and the prosecutor’s office had also recently filed a petition to revoke his bond and an arrest warrant.

Now Burnett is facing similar charges, but at the federal level, where he will have to serve a minimum of 85 percent of his sentence if convicted.

“In this case, he’s looking at a mandatory minimum of 10 years based on the federal guidelines,” Simmons said.

Burnett remained housed at the Putnam County Jail as of Friday morning, but will be turned over to federal custody and arraigned before a U.S. district court judge.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is the investigating agency in the case. The investigation is ongoing.

Putnam County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long said once Burnett is arraigned in federal court local charges will be dismissed.

The focus of federal authorities on these local crimes was emphasized recently when U.S. Attorney Barry Glickman was recently in Putnam County and presented a two-hour lecture on threshold requirements as well as the benefits of federal prosecution as sometimes sentences and penalties are harsher and lengthier than state penalties and convictions.

Officers from various counties in the Southern District of Indiana attended the training, with arrests like that of Burnett emerging as one of the effects of the partnership.