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A Muncie man faces up to three years in jail and a $10,000 fine after a six-person jury found him guilty of a drug charge Thursday afternoon in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
After an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury found Douglas William Lewallen, Muncie, guilty of dealing marijuana more than 30 grams, a Class D felony.
Before finding Lewallen guilty, the jury heard testimony from witnesses including North Webster Police Officer Jeff Wampler, Lewallen's girlfriend Crystal Drumm, Shaylee Holcomb - the 17-year old involved with the event leading to Lewallen's arrest, and Drumm's mother Patricia Drumm.
Wampler told the jury that on the night of Nov. 26, 2005, he made a routine traffic stop on a white Lincoln LS on CR 700S, north of CR 500E, near North Webster. The car was occupied by three people: Holcomb, Lewallen, and Lewallen's cousin Jason Lewallen. However, when Wampler asked Douglas Lewallen his name, he told the officer his name was Justin Lewallen.
During the traffic stop, Wampler discovered Holcomb was driving with a learner's permit, but neither of the Lewallens was a licensed driver.
Later Holcomb was asked to get out of the car, and Wampler discovered a bag of marijuana stuffed in her pants. Later during the stop, Douglas Lewallen told Wampler there was a gun under the seat of the car. Then during a search of his coat, a digital scale, needles and plastic baggies were found in the inside pockets.
In her testimony, Holcomb said, "(Lewallen) handed me his marijuana to put down my pants ... because I'm underage (the police) could not search me or charge me."
When initially interviewed by police, Holcomb referred to Douglas Lewallen as Justin even though she knew his name was Douglas. Holcomb said she "felt scared and threatened" because she had "never been in a situation with a gun before. ... I didn't know what would happen."
Then the jury listened to a tape of a telephone call Douglas Lewallen made to Holcomb while he was in jail. He asked her what she told police and then repeatedly told her that the police would not do anything to her because she was under 18.
"(For me) that's a felony charge," Douglas Lewallen said in the call. "For you, it wouldn't have been. ... You should've taken the charges. You're under 18, they can't do s**t to you."
Testimony in the case finished at 2:37 p.m., and the jury was given its final instructions. Once the instructions were given, the prosecution and defense presented their final arguments and the jury began deliberations at 3:24 p.m.
In the end, the jury believed the case against Douglas Lewallen and returned at 4:58 p.m. with a guilty verdict. Douglas Lewallen will be sentenced by Judge Rex Reed in Kosciusko Circuit Court at 10 a.m. March 9.
