Multiple complaints of drug activity led police on Tuesday to raid a Franklin house, resulting in six arrests.
Four people who live at the house in the 600 block of Overstreet Street and two visitors were arrested on drug charges, including two for dealing methamphetamine and one for dealing narcotics.
Corey F. Barnett, 42, of Franklin, was arrested on charges of dealing methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony; possession of a controlled substance; and false reporting. He also had an outstanding warrant out of Marion County for drug possession and resisting law enforcement.
Bethanie E. Zellars, 37, of Franklin, was arrested on charges of dealing methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of a narcotic, controlled substance and paraphernalia.
Levi R. Baber, 24, of Lizton, was arrested on charges of dealing a narcotic, a Level 4 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony; visiting a common nuisance; and possession of a syringe and paraphernalia.
Bailey Q. Abrams, 20, of Monrovia, was arrested on charges of visiting a common nuisance and possession of a controlled substance, paraphernalia and a syringe.
Gerry A. Lucas, 35, of Franklin, was arrested on charges of visiting a common nuisance, and possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, paraphernalia and a syringe.
Ammon P. Sturgeon, 38, of Franklin, was arrested on charges of visiting a common nuisance, and possession of methamphetamine and a syringe.
Franklin police secured a search warrant for the house, where Barnett, Zellers, Lucas and Sturgeon live, and executed the warrant at 9:22 p.m.
Police saw a white Lincoln parked outside the house when they arrived and witnessed a man leave the vehicle and go inside the house, according to a Franklin Police Department report.
A woman identified as Abrams remained in the car and was monitored during the search of the house, according to the report.
Police announced their presence and waited about 30 seconds for a response before attempting entry. As police prepared to force their way inside, Zellers, who owns the house, answered the door and came outside, the report says.
Police entered the house and asked four individuals inside to come outside, the report says. All of them complied.
Barnett tried to escape out the back door, but police caught him. He gave them a fake name when police first apprehended him, but later told them who he really was, according to the report.
Baber was allegedly at the house to sell a gram of heroin to Zellers. The transaction had not been carried out as Baber had just arrived, the report says.
Baber initially denied he had been at the house to sell drugs, but admitted it after police discovered he had drugs in his underwear. On him, police found 2.5 grams of heroin, a half gram of methamphetamine and a suboxone pill, according to the report.
In the house, police found methamphetamine and a smoking pipe on a table between two beds where Sturgeon and Lucas sleep. Those drugs were identified as Sturgeon’s. Police also found marijuana, a smoking pipe and syringes in Lucas’s possessions, the report says.
They found heroin, a used syringe and a suboxone pill in the bedroom that Barnett and Zellers share, all of which were Zellers’s, according to the report.
Additionally, a pouch containing plastic baggies containing meth and one bar of Xanax, along with a smoking device, were said to be Barnett’s. However, Barnett told police he — not Zellers — should take the dealing charge and claimed ownership of the dealing materials found inside the pouch, the report says.
Police also found methadone, a smoking pipe and syringes during a search of Abrams’s car, according to the report.
Barnett is being held at the Johnson County jail without bond due to the outstanding warrant.
Others were held on bonds ranging from $3,600 to $34,400.
