Trial Set To Begin Tuesday For SusarabaProsecutors are going to try again to convict a Mishawaka man accused of fatally dealing drugs inside Kosciusko County Jail.
A four-day jury trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in Kosciusko Circuit Court for 30-year-old Christopher Aaron Susaraba.
Susaraba is charged with Level 1 felony dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death and Level 5 felony trafficking with an inmate.
The case stems from a March 9, 2019, incident in the jail when jail officers found Dennis McCrory unresponsive in the K block at the jail. McCrory was pronounced dead due to acute drug intoxication, and toxicology results showed McCrory had methamphetamine and narcotic drugs in his system, according to court papers.
Several witnesses are alleged to have told police that Susaraba was dealing meth and heroin to inmates in exchange for money, and there was some discussion that the amount of drugs given to McCrory were too large and dangerous.
A jury was called March 9 to Circuit Court, however, before the jury was seated, Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Buehler asked Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed for a continuance, citing the state’s lack of preparation subpoenaing witnesses to testify.
Susaraba’s attorneys, J. Everett Newman and Helen Newman, argued just because the state was unprepared and it will be damaging to their case, it doesn’t qualify as a statutory reason to continue the trial.
Reed agreed and denied the continuance request, causing prosecutors to dismiss the case and immediately refile charges to buy more time.
Susaraba has been held at the county jail since his arrest.
