Operation Double Trouble: 4 cases resolved; sentencing sharply reduced compared to previous operation

Pending drug dealing cases were set to be resolved this week for four individuals who were
arrested as part of the drug raid known as Operation Double Trouble.

Operation Double Trouble was the second drug raid completed as a joint effort between
the Dubois County Prosecutor’s Office and the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department. In total, in two rounds of arrests, 18 individuals were served with arrest warrants for drug dealing charges in Dubois and Spencer Counties.

On Tuesday, April 5, Jarredd L. Byrd, 34, Jasper, entered a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to Dealing in a Narcotic Drug as a Level 4 felony. The agreement calls for Mr. Byrd’s sentence to be left to the discretion of the Court, however, it shall be capped at eight years executed at the Indiana Department of Correction. Judge Mark R. McConnell is set to determine Mr. Byrd’s sentence on May 13, 2016, at 1:00 p.m.

On Wednesday, April 6, Jeffrey L. Friede, 58, Linton, was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement that he entered into on February 2, 2016. Under that agreement, Mr. Friede pled guilty to Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Level 4 felony. The agreement called for him to be sentenced to 10 years executed at the Indiana Department of Correction.

Also on Wednesday, April 6, Matthew E. Cronin, 27, Tell City, was set to be sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement that he also entered into on February 2, 2016.

Under that agreement, Mr. Cronin pleaded guilty to Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Level 5 felony. The agreement called for him to be sentenced to four years executed at the Indiana Department of Correction. However, Mr. Cronin failed to appear at Wednesday’s hearing and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Matthew Cronin should contact the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department at 812-482-3522.

Finally, the case against Gavin E. Matheis, 26, Celestine, was also resolved on Wednesday. Mr. Matheis entered into a plea agreement that day which called for him to plead guilty to Dealing in a Schedule II Controlled Substance as a Level 5 felony, as well as to Possession of Paraphernalia as a Class A misdemeanor and Possession of Marijuana as a Class B misdemeanor in a case stemming from items found in his possession on the date of his arrest on June 4, 2015. The plea agreement called for the sentence to be left to the discretion of Dubois County Superior Court Judge Mark R. McConnell.

In Mr. Matheis’s case, the Dubois County Prosecutor’s Office requested that Judge McConnell impose a sentence of four years executed at the Indiana Department of Correction on the dealing case, given Mr. Matheis’s history and the facts of the case. The Prosecutor’s Office
asked that the Court merely impose a fine and court costs in Mr. Matheis’s paraphernalia and
marijuana case.

The Dubois County Probation Department recommended that the Court sentence Mr. Matheis to serve a total sentence of four years on both cases, with said sentence being served on a
combination of Work Release, Level 1 Adult Day Reporting, and Supervised Probation.

Judge McConnell, however, chose to sentence Mr. Matheis to a more lenient sentence of
one year on Level 1 Adult Day Reporting, followed by one year of supervised probation in his
dealing case. In the paraphernalia and marijuana case, Judge McConnell chose to sentence Mr. Matheis to one year of Supervised Probation consecutive to his dealing case.

Thus far, 14 of the 17 Dubois County Operation Double Trouble cases have been resolved, resulting in sentences totaling 69 years, with 40 years of jail time. These numbers are in sharp contrast to the totals for Operation Big Brother, the prior operation completed in Dubois County, according to the prosecuting attorney’s office. In that operation, 16 cases resulted in sentences totaling 165.5 years, with 135 years of jail time.

The decreased sentences in Operation Double Trouble are a direct result of the Indiana
legislature decreasing penalties for drug dealing offenses.

The three individuals with charges in Dubois County stemming from Operation Double
Trouble that remain pending at this time are Adrienne L. Holmes, DeWayne L. Bouillon, and
Cary K. Trusty.

(the fact that a person has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty).