COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team has arrested two suspects in an investigation into dealing of fentanyl.
Sgt. Dane Duke, Bartholomew County Sheriff Department spokesman, said Torien Thornton, 19, Bloomington, was identified as a retail distributor of large amounts of counterfeit Oxycodone pills, which may contain fentanyl. Thornton is a resident of Bloomington, IN however the investigation began when JNET discovered that she was allegedly distributing or intended to distribute narcotics to residents of Bartholomew County.
Over several days more than 200 counterfeit pills were seized by JNET in
connection with the investigation, Duke said.
In a joint effort between JNET and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office Thornton was taken into custody in Nashville, IN. A passenger in the vehicle, Aireana Brandon, 19, Bloomington, was also taken into custody on the charge of possession of marijuana. Also in the vehicle was Thornton’s 3-year-old child who was in the presence of the narcotics at the time of the arrests. The Department of Child Services was contacted in regards to the child, a case manager responded to ensure the welfare of the child.
Thornton was booked into the Brown County Jail on the charges of dealing in a narcotic drug level 2 felony and neglect of a dependent level 5 felony. She remains in custody on a $60,000 bond.
Thornton faces 10 to 30 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections if convicted of the above offenses.
This is a preliminary investigation. All persons are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, is proactively targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs. This aggressive narcotics enforcement not only occurs in Bartholomew County but will be pursued anywhere where narcotics have an effect on the residents of Bartholomew County.
