Anderson man sentenced to 24 years on drug charges

Jan. 26—ANDERSON — An Anderson man in possession of 300 grams of fentanyl has been sentenced to prison for 24 years.

Jerrod King, 32, Anderson was sentenced Thursday by Madison Circuit Court Judge Mark Dudley as part of a plea agreement.

King entered pleas of guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug; corrupt business influence; three counts of dealing in a narcotic drug; neglect of a dependent; and a misdemeanor charge of dealing in marijuana.

The state's case was presented by Deputy Prosecutor Jesse Miller.

Miller said King's arrest was the result of controlled buys from a confidential informant from June 2021 to January 2022.

"There was an investigation that lasted several months," Miller said. "He (King) was stopped on his way back from Trotwood, Ohio." That was in January 2022.

Miller said he can't recall a fentanyl case this large.

"The Madison County Drug Task Force and prosecutor's office (are) making a special effort to aggressively prosecute people involved in the distribution of these drugs," he said.

"People are overdosing and dying on these counterfeit drugs that look like opioids that are showing up everywhere."

At the time of his arrest, King was found to be in possession of 300 grams of fentanyl (about 10.5 ounces) and large amounts of heroin, carfentanil and marijuana.

Carfentanil is used as an elephant tranquilizer that is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to the Madison County prosecutor's office, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be fatal. The office said King had enough of the drug to potentially kill 150,000 people.

King was arrested in 2019 after his vehicle was stopped for improper license plates, and the officer could smell marijuana.

King offered to turn over the marijuana and not be arrested.

A search of the car allegedly resulted in the confiscation of several illegal substances including about 95 grams of marijuana (over 3 ounces) in two separate plastic bags, wax THC wrapped in paper, two black scales and several nuggets of marijuana on the floorboard and in the car seat base, according to the affidavit. King also had $559 in cash.

When interviewed by police about the marijuana, King allegedly said he sells the marijuana because he is unable to find a job due to a felony on his record, but he still has to make money to support his family.

King was sentenced to 18 months with the Indiana Department of Correction in 2020 by Judge Dudley.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.