Courts roundup: Sex crime, arson, drug dealing cases resolved

Two men and one woman who were facing criminal charges in Johnson County courts have each pled guilty and been sentenced for giving obscene materials to a minor, arson and dealing drugs, in their respective cases.

The Daily Journal has previously reported about these cases, and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.

Man sentenced for role in sex crime sting

An Indianapolis man who was arrested in a December 2020 sex crime sting has pled guilty and will serve less than a year of probation and less than a handful of days in jail.

Jason M. Cleveland, 26, pled guilty to one count of dissemination of harmful materials to a minor, a Level 6 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 3 on Aug. 18. As part of his plea agreement, a charge of child solicitation, a Level 4 felony, was dismissed.

He was sentenced to 270 days in jail, 266 days of which were suspended to probation, and received a two-day jail credit. This means he will serve two additional days of jail time, plus probation.

As part of his probation sentence, he was ordered to complete therapy and do 40 hours of community service. He will not be required to register as a sex offender, according to online court records.

Cleveland was one of nine men who were arrested in December 2020 as part of a multi-agency sting operation. The operation, dubbed Operation Firewall, was a partnership of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office and Covenant Rescue Group, an Alabama-based nonprofit that’s fighting human trafficking across the country and working with law enforcement agencies on operations such as this. It was part of a first-of-its-kind sting operation in the county, officials said in 2020.

Detectives, with expertise and insight from the rescue group, created a fake profile on a sex-oriented website. During the chats, detectives would make clear that the girl was underage, 14 in this case. The conversations continued to turn sexual in nature, and arrangements were made for the men to meet up with the girl in Greenwood, officials said.

Greenwood man sentenced for arson

A Greenwood man has pled guilty and been sentenced to nearly 2.5 years for lighting two cars on fire in March 2020.

Matthew T. Westfall, 44, pled guilty to arson, a Level 6 felony, in Johnson County Superior Court 3 on Aug. 23. He was sentenced to 910 days in jail, 898 days of which were suspended to probation. He also received a six-day jail credit, so he will ultimately serve six days in jail.

As part of his plea agreement, the Level 4 felony charge of arson was lowered to a Level 6 felony. Additionally, the outstanding arson charge, along with the misdemeanor charge were dismissed, according to online court records.

He will also have to pay $9,821.34 in restitution, and will be required to undergo mental health treatment, records show.

Sheriff’s deputies, along with the Amity Volunteer Fire Department, responded to a report of two vehicles on fire around 2:30 a.m. March 23, 2020 at a home in the 4000 block of S. County Road 700 East, according to a report from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. The owner of one of the cars said she and Westfall were going through a divorce, and he had threatened her, the report said.

Police later pulled over Westfall in New Whiteland, and he admitted to police he set the two cars on fire, according to the report.

Westfall was originally charged in March 2020 with two counts of arson as a Level 6 felony and one count of intimidation, a misdemeanor. Later, prosecutors upgraded one of the charges to a Level 4 felony, based on evidence they believed would be supplied to them showing that the value of one of the cars was more than $5,000, said Joe Villanueva, prosecutor.

This evidence did not fully materialize, leaving prosecutors with only the evidence that was consistent with the charge as a Level 6 felony. Instead of amending the charges again to revert it back to the original felony level, it was decided to draft the plea agreement in a way so that Westfall could plead openly to the Level 6 charge as a lesser included felony, Villanueva said.

Franklin woman sentenced in drug dealing cases

A Franklin woman who was facing criminal charges in three separate drug dealing cases has been sentenced to eight years of supervision and incarceration.

Michaela Y. Alldredge, pled guilty and was sentenced to eight years of supervision on drug charges in Johnson County Superior Court 2 on Aug. 24. Four years of the sentence will be served on home detention and four years are suspended to probation, according to online court records.

In the first case, filed on Dec. 16, 2020, she was charged with dealing a schedule III controlled substance, a Level 5 felony, possession of a narcotic drug, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. As part of the plea agreement, the Level 6 felony and the misdemeanor charge were dismissed.

Prosecutors filed charges against Alldredge a second time on Jan. 20, 2021, when she was charged with one count of dealing a schedule III controlled substance in the presence of a minor, a Level 4 felony.

Two days after Alldredge was charged in the second case, she was charged in a third case. Those charges were dealing a narcotic drug in front of a minor, a Level 4 felony, dealing a schedule III controlled substance in the presence of a minor, a Level 4 felony, and dealing a schedule III controlled substance, a Level 5 felony.

For the second and third cases, she was sentenced to eight years, with four to be served on home detention and four on probation. For the first case, she was sentenced to four years probation.

The sentences will run concurrently, or at the same time. She will also be required to pay over $500 in court fees and restitution, court records show.