Two female defendants accused of providing methamphetamine to a Bartholomew County Jail inmate who overdosed and died in jail have entered guilty pleas to drug-related charges.
Bartholomew Superior Court 1 judge accepted a guilty plea from Mary L. Snyder, 19, Columbus. In a Monday morning court hearing, she admitted to Level 6 felony, possession of methamphetamine.
After Snyder left the courtroom, Debin Paige Gabbard, 27, Columbus, entered into a plea bargain agreement in two cases against her, pleading guilty to two reduced felony counts of dealing in methamphetamine.
Gabbard is scheduled to be sentenced at 11 a.m. June 12, and Snyder will be sentenced the same day at 1:30 p.m.
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The two were charged early this year after an Indiana State Police investigation into the death of Angela Blair, 42, Elizabethtown, who overdosed on methamphetamine in the Bartholomew County Jail on Oct. 7, court records state.
State police determined that just prior to Gabbard’s arrest Oct. 5 at a Bartholomew County residence, she grabbed a bag that contained heroin and methamphetamine and hid it in a body cavity as police approached the home, court documents state. The drugs were not detected when Gabbard was first booked into the jail.
Gabbard was in Medical Unit 1 with Snyder after her arrest and gave the methamphetamine she had brought into the jail to Snyder, who put the drug into a hair conditioner bottler, court documents state.
Snyder was transferred to Medical Unit 8 with Blair on Oct. 6, court records state. A video of the transfer showed Snyder moving her belongings into the cell and placing a bottle, which appears to be a conditioner bottle, on the floor, court documents state.
In the video, Blair is seen picking up the bottle and taking it with her to her bed, court documents state. Blair’s back was to the camera and investigators could not tell what Blair did with the bottle, court documents state.
On the evening of Oct. 7, Blair collapsed and became unresponsive just after jail staff arrived at her cell to provide medical attention, Indiana State Police said.
Blair was pronounced dead by Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting at 11:12 p.m. Oct. 7, court records state. Her cause of death was listed as methamphetamine intoxication, according to court records.
When Indiana State Police interviewed Gabbard soon after Blair’s death, she told troopers she still had some heroin stored inside her body, court documents stated. A female jailer took Gabbard to another room and Gabbard removed the heroin and gave it to the jailer, according to court documents.
Snyder did not enter into a plea bargain agreement, but did plead guilty as charged to possession of methamphetamine as a Level 6 felony. A Level 6 felony is punishable by six months to two and a half years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
In testimony during the hearing, Snyder told Worton that while in the cell block, she had been threatened and intimidated about the case and called a snitch by other inmates.
Gabbard entered into a plea bargain for her two guilty pleas, admitting to dealing in methamphetamine over 5 grams but less than 10 grams, a Level 3 felony, in the case regarding her initial arrest at the Bartholomew County home. The charge was initially filed as a Level 2 felony and Gabbard had been accused of dealing in more than 10 grams of methamphetamine, court records state.
As part of the plea bargain, charges of felony possession of methamphetamine and two counts of dealing in a narcotic drug will be dismissed, court documents state. A Level 3 felony carries a prison sentence of three to 16 years, with nine years as the advisory term and up to a $10,000 fine.
On the second charge, Gabbard pleaded guilty to a Level 5 felony dealing in methamphetamine in regard to the jail incident, with charges of trafficking with an inmate, possession of a narcotic drug and possession of methamphetamine being dismissed, court documents state.
A Level 5 felony carries a prison sentence of one to six years, with three years as the advisory term and a fine of up to $10,000.
Gabbard requested to be evaluated for the Women Recovering with a Purpose program, a drug-treatment program for female offenders within the Bartholomew County Jail. Worton allowed her to be evaluated but said he didn’t think the program accepted anyone convicted of a Level 3 felony drug case.
