Richmond man sentenced to eight years after admitting to selling drugs.
RICHMOND, Ind. — A Richmond man arrested outside a drug house hours before it was raided by law enforcement pleaded guilty to two drug-dealing charges.
James H. Abney, 51, pleaded guilty to Level 3 felony dealing methamphetamine and Level 4 felony dealing heroin in accordance with a plea agreement he reached with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. The deal dismissed a Level 6 felony charge of possession of a syringe.
As stipulated in the plea agreement, Judge April Drake issued Abney concurrent sentences of eight years for the methamphetamine conviction and six years for the heroin conviction. The eight years is one fewer than the standard nine-year sentence for a Level 3 felony conviction.
Abney has a previous felony conviction for possession of methamphetamine and three previous misdemeanor convictions, including two for operating while intoxicated and one for leaving the scene of an accident.
Drake credited Abney, who has remained jailed since his Aug. 11 arrest, with 152 days served and 51 good-time days. With the maximum good-time credit, Abney would serve six years.
He was stopped outside the South West 15th Street residence of David Douglas Jones, who was a suspected drug dealer, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Marijuana and hydrocodone were found inside Abney’s pockets, and a vehicle inventory prior to its being towed found methamphetamine, heroin, syringes, marijuana, a smoking pipe, baggies and pills.
The methamphetamine weighed 13 grams and the heroin 4 grams, the affidavit said.
Abney told officers that he had bought the drugs from Jones and that he sells drugs to buy food and cigarettes, according to the affidavit.
Later that night, the SWAT team and Wayne County Drug Task Force executed a search warrant for Jones’ residence, finding 16.53 grams of methamphetamine, fentanyl and pills. Jones and four others were arrested.
Jones is charged with Level 2 felony dealing methamphetamine and Level 6 felony maintaining a common nuisance related to that raid. He has a trial scheduled April 4 in Superior Court 2 on that case and two others.
