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Testimony from members of the drug task force and a confidential informant led to a guilty verdict in the trial of a Warsaw man Wednesday.
Travis Johnson, 27 of 312 N. Sherman St., Warsaw, was convicted for dealing a schedule II controlled substance, a Class B felony. He will be sentenced Feb. 2 at 9:30 a.m. Johnson faces six to 20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines for the offense.
The charges stemmed from a Dec. 19, 2003, incident where Johnson sold two Oxycontin pills to a confidential informant. Oxycontin is a strong prescription pain medication that contains oxycodone.
A member of the Kosciusko County Drug Task Force witnessed the transaction from a closet in the house where the incident took place.
The informant, who lived with his father in Winona Lake at the time of the incident, said he received a telephone call Dec. 19, 2003, from either Johnson or another man who wanted to sell him drugs. After receiving the call, the informant contacted the drug task force and told about the offer.
After he was arrested on a drug charge Dec. 3, 2003, the informant made a deal with the task force to help set up drug deals in return for having the charges against him dropped. An informant must abide by task force rules, such as not using drugs, not having unsupervised contact with drug users and being honest. "If an informant is caught lying, all deals are off," said the task force officer. Most informants are required to make at least four buys, but some volunteer to do more.
Once the informant contacted the drug task force, a member of the force went to the informant's home and staged the house for the drug transaction. The officer searched the home, searched the informant and then set up the room and told the informant where to sit during the deal. The informant was given a transmitter to send sounds from the deal to a receiver outside so other officers could hear.
The officer then hid in a closet in an adjoining room and watched through a hole about the size of a racquetball in the closet door as the transaction unfolded.
Johnson and another man entered the house, and Johnson sat on a couch in the view of the officer in the closet. After making small talk for a short time, the informant bought two Oxycontin tablets wrapped in a cellophane packet from Johnson for $45 each. The informant gave Johnson a $100 bill in exchange for the tablets.
Once Johnson and the other man left the house, the task force officer searched the room and the informant and took the drugs. Then the drugs were taken to other task force officers waiting outside in a vehicle.
After the drugs were taken to the officers outside, the pills were heat sealed and labeled. Later the pills were taken to the Indiana State Police lab in Fort Wayne where they were analyzed.
Jerry A. Hetrick, forensic scientist for the Indiana State Police, took one of the pills, crushed it and performed several tests to determine its makeup. Hetrick concluded that the pills were Oxycontin.
The jury, which was selected Wednesday morning and heard opening arguments before lunch, listened to witness testimony most of the afternoon before hearing closing arguments. The jury began deliberations after 5 p.m. and returned with its guilty verdict just before 6 p.m.
When the verdict was read, Johnson shook his head in disbelief. As the jury left the courtroom, tears streamed down his face.
Special Judge Duane Huffer revoked Johnson's bond at the prosecution's request. Huffer then ordered Johnson's immediate detention in Kosciusko County Jail. Johnson made repeated requests for time to "get my affairs in order" to the judge.
"I wasn't prepared for this," said Johnson.
The requests were refused.
