Two men who were facing criminal charges in local courts have pled guilty and been sentenced on drug-related charges.
The Daily Journal has previously reported on these cases and is sharing this update to give resolution to our earlier reporting on crime in the community.
Three years jail time for dealing
An Indianapolis man will serve three years in prison for dealing drugs in Franklin.
Garcia Martel Madison, 31, was sentenced to 10 years on charges of dealing methamphetamine, a lesser included Level 3 felony, and dealing in a narcotic drug, a Level 4 felony, by Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener on March 2. As part of a plea agreement, three years will be served in prison while the remaining 7 years will be suspended to probation, according to the sentencing order.
Madison also received a 110-day jail credit and will pay $690 in restitution to the Franklin Police Department, the order says.
The Franklin Police Department conducted an investigation on Madison in March 2019, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Oct. 8, 2019.
Detectives witnessed two separate instances where Madison sold 3.6 grams of heroin and 29 grams of meth, according to court documents. During the second sale, police pulled over Madison on a traffic violation, and arrested him on a warrant from Shelby County, court documents said.
Formal charges were filed against Madison in Johnson County Circuit Court in October 2019, and a warrant for this case was issued then. Because he also had other active warrants in Shelby and Marion counties around the time, the warrant in Johnson County was served in June 2021.
Probation for meth possession
A man arrested during an Edinburgh drug raid will serve most of his sentence on probation.
Troy Dale Herren, 39, of Franklin, was sentenced to 364 days on a charge of possession of meth, a Level 6 felony, by Johnson County Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins on March 23. Most of the sentence — 362 days — will be served on probation, with a one-day jail credit, according to the sentencing order.
Herren, along with Dara Ranae Simpson and James Loren Hardin, were arrested in January 2022 after police served a search warrant at Simpson’s house in the 200 block of N. Walnut St. in Edinburgh. During the search, police found 20 grams of meth, half a gram of cocaine, prescription drugs and marijuana, according to an Edinburgh Police Department news release.
Police served a separate search warrant Saturday at Hardin’s house in the 400 block of N. Kyle Street in Edinburgh where they found 7 grams of meth, prescription drugs and 3 bags of marijuana, according to the news release.
When police first tried to enter the house, Hardin resisted law enforcement by trying to shut the door on them, the news release says.
Simpson and Hardin were also charged after their arrests, and their cases are still pending, online court records show.
