A jury of six took an hour and a half to find a Brown County man guilty of possessing methamphetamine and paraphernalia on Nov. 16.
Officers from four agencies in two counties served a search warrant on Park Lane in Nashville in January, which resulted in the arrest of two men.
Lawrence Michael Culp, 38, and Noah Joshua Ford, 35, were sharing the home in the 500 block of Park Lane, where police reported finding plastic baggies, glass pipes, a digital scale, two guns and other paraphernalia.
Both were formally charged April 13 with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; and possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, both misdemeanors.
The jury found Ford guilty. Culp remains at large with an active arrest warrant, Brown County Prosecutor Ted Adams stated in a press release.
Items at the scene were laboratory-tested for drugs; those results came back positive for methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana, the police report said.
The task force was serving a Henry County search warrant connected with stolen property and potential drug dealing, Adams stated in the release.
Culp told police that on occasion, Ford would leave a young child at the home for him to watch, the report said. The child was with a neighbor when police arrived and was released to a grandfather.
Culp had an outstanding warrant for drunken driving from Bartholomew County; he was taken into custody but later released.
Ford was booked into the Brown County jail on April 16 and was released about an hour later after posting bond.
Adams tried the case with a Johnson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Alex Hamner.
“This was a complete and competent investigation involving a multi-agency drug task force. Our case was entirely circumstantial since Noah Ford was not found in actual possession of the methamphetamine,” Adams said.
“Our office remains committed to fighting back against the drug scourge in our community and that includes not only going after dealers, but forcing consequences for users as well.”
Adams said he was proud of the investigation conducted by the agencies.
“These officers took the initiative to apply for and receive a search warrant based upon a traffic stop all the way up in Henry County,” Adams said. “It was the domino that led them to 511 Park Lane and the drugs contained in that residence.”
Ford faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine, the press release said.
Sentencing is set for Dec. 19 at 1 p.m.
The Brown County Prosecutor’s Office will ask that Ford serve his time in jail based on his record, the release states. In 2001 in Brown County, Ford pleaded guilty to Class A misdemeanor conversion. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness, a Class A misdemeanor. He had been charged with a Class D felony in that case in 2004 for driving while intoxicated within five years of being convicted of the same crime, according to online court records. He was also charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Class C misdemeanor, and driving left of center, a Class C infraction, in that same cause in 2004.
In 2008, Ford pleaded guilty to possessing paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. A Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana, hashish or hash oil charge was also filed against him in the same cause, but that was dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Thus far, the prosecutor’s office has convicted every person who has gone to jury trial, according to the press release.
