Increasing and adjusting

Drug crimes in Jay County have increased over the last five years, and the rise has been accompanied by a rapidly changing landscape of the drug abuse problem.

Since 2011, the nature of drug-related cases filed in Jay County have changed significantly, shifting from a focus on methamphetamine-related charges to a higher number of narcotics-related charges. Jay County Prosecutor Wes Schemenaur said part of the reason for the switch is added safeguard to prevent the purchase of precursors for methamphetamine production.

But as narcotic-related cases have risen, methamphetamine cases still continue to roll in. During 2015, there were 33 methamphetamine dealing charges filed in the county and 43 possession charges, including for possession of precursors or chemical reagents. In 2016, dealing cases dropped to 11, but there were still 39 possession cases, only a 10 percent drop from the year before.

Despite a continuing but stagnating methamphetamine problem, the county faces a wave of heroin use that continues to rise.

“Heroin has really pushed to the forefront,” Schemenaur said. “The numbers have tripled in the last three years.”

In 2015, law enforcement agencies in Jay County submitted filings for a total of 16 cases against individuals for dealing schedule 1 or narcotic drugs. Last year, that total had jumped to 32.

A majority of those cases in 2016 — 21 — were filed by Portland Police Department. By comparison, the 2015 total from Portland Police Department of narcotic or schedule I dealing cases was 6. Portland Police Chief Nathan Springer attributed the change to an increased amount of crime and drug use, but also changes to the way the department operates.

“We’ve revamped our whole drug investigation department,” Springer said. “But it’s still going to be a while before we see the full adjustment.”

This morning, officers and investigators from Portland Police Department served a series of search warrants in an effort to find and arrest Shelby J. Steed, 21, and Josh Guntle, both suspected heroin dealers. As the sun was rising, police searched a home at 2698 E. Treaty Line Road. Inside, they found Steed, who was arrested on a warrant for two counts of dealing in a narcotic drug, a Level 5 felony, and unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 5 felony. She’s now being held in Jay County Jail without bond.

Police moved on to continue the search for Guntle, but weren’t able to locate him. He is also wanted on a warrant for dealing narcotics, a Level 5 felony.

In addition to dealing cases, narcotic possession cases have also ticked upward. In 2014, there were 18 narcotic possession cases filed in Jay County. Last year, the total was 56.

But Schemenaur said the problem started decades ago, when it was easy to get a prescription opioid pain medication.

“Before it was heroin, it was prescription pills,” he said. “Ten years ago there was really no heroin but we saw lots and lots of pill possession … Once providers started cracking down, pill mills got shut down, and it shut of the spigot for people that were addicted to pills. But now heroin is available and its cheap.”

Heroin is now one of the cheapest drugs on the street, significantly cheaper than illicit prescription drugs and able to give addicts the same “fix.”

But Springer said the drugs change over time, and eventually drug use will change again as efforts are made to stamp out heroin.

“It comes in cycles. The choice may fluctuate … but everything runs in cycles if you go through the years,” Springer said.

Cases of syringe possession have also shot up, partly because of a change in the Indiana Criminal Code that eliminated a specification for charging an individual with unlawful possession of a syringe. The change, combined with the spread of intravenous drug use, has seen syringe possession go from 17 cases in 2015 to 88 cases in 2016.

Regarding the heroin crisis, Schemenaur said it’s not just a law enforcement issue anymore.

“We are not going to arrest our way out of the problem. The criminal justice system is ill-equipped to handle people that have drug addiction,” he said. “But we don’t have the tools to address it. I have one tool, and that’s to put people in jail … It’s tough to deal with the same cases, same people … it really is a real tragedy.”