Man back in jail after skipping hearing

A suspected drug dealer from Columbus with a history of missing court dates missed yet another one and wound up in jail.

Ryan K. Anderson, 30, of 1803 Central Ave., is being held at the Bartholomew County Jail in lieu of $250,000 surety or $25,000 cash bond.

In late December, Anderson was charged with dealing in methamphetamine, a Class B felony, and dealing in a substance represented to be a controlled substance, a Class D felony.

The charges relate to two incidents that took place a year earlier.

Anderson sold a gram of crystal methamphetamine Dec. 30, 2013, to a confidential police informant for $100, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Two weeks later, at the same location, Anderson sold the same informant what he claimed was a larger amount of methamphetamine for $300, the affidavit stated. However, a laboratory analysis showed the substance he sold Jan. 14 was actually an over-the-counter dietary supplement used to treat arthritis, the affidavit stated.

If convicted on both charges, Anderson could be sentenced to up to 23 years behind bars and ordered to pay fines of up to $20,000.

After his arrest late last year, the Columbus man was released Jan. 6 on his own recognizance and ordered to attend a change-of-plea hearing in late March, according to court records. When Anderson didn’t show up for his March 30 hearing, an arrest warrant was issued April 1, court records show.

He was arrested last week for missing the hearing.

Anderson, who also was arrested in December 2013 on a charge of conversion, failed to show up for two court hearings in that case scheduled in March 2014. Court records show that while he received a one-year suspended sentence in July, his probation was revoked the following month.

A few years earlier, Anderson missed four scheduled meetings with his probation officer after earlier convictions of domestic battery and disorderly conduct. When he did show up in late July 2012, he refused to take a drug test.

Five months later, Anderson admitted he refused to provide a urine sample because he was using cocaine while on probation, court records show.