Staff Reports
Two Brown County men face felony drug charges after police served multiple search warrants as part of an investigation that began in April.
Billy Wayne Decker, 38, of Bean Blossom, and David Guy, 57, homeless, were both charged May 28 with felonies.
Guy was charged with possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 6 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony; visiting a common nuisance — controlled substances, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
Decker was charged with unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony; maintaining a common nuisance — controlled substances, a Level 6 felony; possession of a device or substance used to interfere with a drug or alcohol screening test, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
In April, two search warrants were granted for a phone belonging to a suspected drug dealer. Det. Paul Henderson with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department reported finding messages on Facebook between the dealer and Decker, a probable cause affidavit states.
Decker was upset because the dealer had owed him money, because Decker had fronted him drugs and the man was avoiding him, the affidavit states. Decker then asked the dealer for a syringe.
On the suspected dealer’s phone, police found messages between him and another man from two days earlier asking if he needed drugs.
In May, Henderson reported receiving a phone call from an anonymous person who identified himself or herself as a recovering addict who had ties to Decker. The caller told Henderson he or she used to buy heroin from Decker and exactly what apartment he was living in.
The caller said he or she had not visited Decker in a month, but he or she had a friend who had purchased heroin from him in the last week. The caller also said that Decker had access to a vacant apartment where he kept some of his drugs.
The caller also reported that Decker bought between 10 and 20 grams of heroin at a time to sell, and when he runs out, he has different people run him to get more.
Police conducted surveillance on the home about four days after receiving the anonymous call. Sheriff Scott Southerland stopped a vehicle leaving that apartment and the driver agreed to speak about drug activity if his or her name was withheld, the affidavit states.
The driver said while he or she was in Decker’s home, he or she reported seeing two “eight-balls” of methamphetamine and an undetermined amount of heroin in two “chunks.”
Police conducted another traffic stop in May on a woman who was driving Decker somewhere. Henderson reported that Decker had $1,000 in cash and that his cellphone was in plain view. The phone was receiving text messages stating that a person was waiting on Decker at a restaurant in Nashville.
Henderson went to the restaurant to meet the potential buyer to inform him that Decker would not be meeting him. At no point did that person deny being there to buy drugs, but the buyer did not name Decker.
Police later went to Decker’s apartment to secure it until a search warrant could be granted. Guy, Decker and a woman were there. When he arrived, Henderson reported that he saw syringes on a bed and he was told that Decker was flushing the toilet. When police reached him, a baggie corner was floating in the bowl, the affidavit states.
Guy told police he did not live at the apartment, but had been staying there because his car’s sunroof was leaking. He said he was going to leave, but couldn’t find his keys. Guy also admitted to owning a blue bag that was found in the home.
Guy and Decker were taken from the scene. The woman told police she was there to pick up Decker because he had a car title that belonged to her husband. She also told police Guy had gone out to his vehicle to grab the blue bag and bring it back to the apartment before police arrived. She was released from the scene.
When Henderson was leaving the apartment after the search, he reported seeing the windows on Guy’s vehicle rolled down and that it was unlocked. He took a cellphone and wallet that were in plain view in the car to the Brown County Jail for safekeeping, the affidavit states. Later in the evening, jail staff reported finding a small amount of methamphetamine in the wallet.
In the home, police reported finding multiple capped syringes and a corner baggie of heroin near the blue bag on a bed. There were also three digital scales and a cellphone that police believed came from the bag, according to the affidavit.
In the apartment, police reported finding a bent spoon with burn marks consistent with “cooking down” illegal drugs to inject. A device also was found that can be used to secure a plastic bladder and tube to a person’s body to push fake urine out, along with a bottle of fake urine, the affidavit states.
There was also a Naloxone kit in the closet and a bottle of Naloxone in the refrigerator. A trash bag on the floor contained multiple used, uncapped syringes. Another small bundle of syringes was found, with one containing narcotic drugs, the report said.
A cellphone belonging to Decker rang constantly and had text messages coming in from several known drug users, the report said. One was from a man claiming he had money that he owed Decker.
The day before the search, Henderson reported seeing a vehicle registered to a man with the same name in Decker’s phone visiting the apartment for around 22 minutes. The man lived in Columbus, and Henderson reported that it did not make sense he would be in Bean Blossom for a short visit in the middle of the day.
