A local woman accused of providing methamphetamine to a Bartholomew County Jail inmate who later overdosed and died has entered a not-guilty plea in Bartholomew Superior Court 1.
Mary L. Snyder, 19, who is serving a sentence in the Rockville Correctional Facility on an unrelated conviction, appeared in court Monday.
Snyder initially appeared on her own in the courtroom until Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton appointed public defender David Nowak to represent her.
Snyder is accused of one count of possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony, punishable by six months to two and a half years in prison.
Worton set a change-of-plea hearing for 10:30 a.m. July 2 and a second pre-trial hearing for 11 a.m. July 16. A jury trial was tentatively set for 8:30 a.m. July 31.
Snyder, along with Debin Paige Gabbard, 27, Columbus, face charges related to the death of Angela Blair, 42, Elizabethtown, who died Oct. 7, 2017, of methamphetamine intoxication while incarcerated in the jail, court records state.
An Indiana State Police death investigation determined Gabbard smuggled methamphetamine into the jail when she was arrested Oct. 5, 2017, state police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wheeles said.
Investigators believe Gabbard gave the drugs to Snyder, who then provided methamphetamine to Blair while they were housed together in the jail. Blair collapsed and died soon after obtaining the methamphetamine from Snyder, State Police detective Christopher Howell said.
Gabbard was arrested on charges of dealing methamphetamine and trafficking with an inmate, both level 5 felonies; and possession of a narcotic drug and possession of methamphetamine, both level 6 felonies, according to court records.
Her next court appearance is 9:15 a.m. March 5 for a change-of-plea hearing on the original charges she was arrested for in October, court documents state. Those charges include dealing in methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine and two counts of dealing in a narcotic drug, court records state.
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Mary L. Snyder, 19, Columbus, is scheduled to appear in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 at 10:30 a.m. July 2 for her next court hearing.
Debin Paige Gabbard, 27, Columbus, has a hearing for a change of plea in Superior Court 1 at 9:15 a.m. March 5 on the original charges that resulted in her arrest in October 2017, which include dealing in methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine and two counts of dealing in a narcotic drug, court records state.
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