BEDFORD – On Thursday, January 26th, around 6:30 p.m., Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies, along with Oolitic marshals, went to a residence in the 300 block of Old State Road 37 in an attempt to locate Michael Simmons.
Simmons was wanted on an active Level 5 felony warrant for failing to appear on the original offense of burglary. Officers had received information that Simmons was living at the residence.
Simmons answered the door when officers knocked and made their presence known.
As Simmons was detained on the outstanding warrant, officers detected the odor of marijuana and observed a large amount of the drug in plain view.
Simmons’ wife, Kayla Simmons, was present along with a child.
A search warrant for the residence was obtained regarding the drugs.
Upon execution of the search warrant, officers located approximately 3 pounds of marijuana, THC wax/hash oil, and drug paraphernalia. Officers seized a marijuana press used to produce THC wax.
Evidence was obtained that Simmons was dealing marijuana and that the drug was regularly being smoked in the presence of their two juvenile children.
The children were released to the care of other family members.
Additionally, probable cause was established for a search warrant of a garage/shop in the 8100 block of Old State Road 37 in Monroe County that was utilized by Simmons. The officers executed the search warrant.
In the garage, police located a large indoor grow operation including an indoor “greenhouse”, irrigation system, grow lights, and other items associated with cultivating marijuana. The plants had just recently been harvested.
Michael Simmons is now facing additional felony charges of dealing and possession of marijuana, two counts of child neglect, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kayla Simmons is facing two felony counts of child neglect.
Both were incarcerated in the Lawrence County Jail.
Sheriff Greg Day commended the involved officers while stressing that the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office will not tolerate drug dealing or the endangerment of children.
“I am proud of all the involved officers for putting the extra effort into the investigation and not stopping at just serving the arrest warrant,” Sheriff Day added. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the children in our community and to the enforcement of illegal drug dealing in our county. Regardless of your stance on marijuana, dealing and/or using illegal substances in the presence of children pose an inherent risk to those youth.”
Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies involved in the investigation included Brenten Trueblood, Bailey Dupree, Christian James, Travis Atchison, and Sheriff Greg Day. Oolitic officers were James Harrington and Shaun Cabral.
Anyone with illegal drug activity information is encouraged to contact the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office at 812-275-3316, the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s tip line at 812-545-4700, or send an email to drugactivity@lawrencecounty.in.gov. All such calls are confidential.
