Three Arrested During Local Parole Sweep

(UNDATED) – Three men were arrested during a local parole sweep in Lawrence County.

Zane Payton

On Thursday, officers arrested 25-year-old Zane Payton, of Mitchell after Mitchell Police officer Michael Bargo and Indiana Department of Correction parole officers went to Payton’s home at 17 Plum Street on charges of possession of meth, unlawful possession of a syringe, and possession of marijuana.

According to a probable cause affidavit, officers arrived at the home at 4:22 p.m.

Officer Bargo stayed with Payton in the living room area, while the parole officers searched Payton’s bedroom and located three hypodermic syringes inside a yellow zippered container, a small black digital scale with marijuana sicker on the inside, a small black herbal grinder with a green-plant like substance inside emitting a strong odor of raw marijuana, 1 green smoking device with burnt marijuana inside, 1 small clear medical pill container with fine powder inside emitting a strong odor of marijuana. The small measuring device field-tested positive for the presence of meth.

Zane was arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail.

Also on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. Mitchell Police Major Ryan Duckett and parole officer went to the home of 34-year-old Robert Henderson, at 450 East Vine Street to do a parole search.

Robert Henderson

Major Duckett was told Henderson was also wanted on an active warrant for his arrest out of St. Joseph County and they would extradite Henderson back to their county to face charges.

When officers arrived at the home Henderson’s mother told officers he was not home, but she would have his father contact him and request that he return home.

A short-time later Henderson arrived and he was handcuffed and arrested on the warrant.

Parole officers entered Henderson’s residence, a single room apartment located in a detached garage on the property.

Parole Officers asked Robert if anyone else lives in the room with him and he advised that he is the only one who lives in his apartment. Parole Officers then began to search and found an unused syringe stuffed down inside of a tissue box beside Henderson’s Bed

A parole officer asked if there were any more syringes in the home because she didn’t want to get accidentally stuck. Henderson said there was a large number of syringes inside the drain in his unfinished bathroom.

Major Duckett asked Robert if he used the syringes for medication or to inject illegal substances and he placed his head down and stated ”illegal substances”. Henderson told police he had put the syringes down the drain before he had been sent to prison and had yet to dispose of them.

Officers then used a shop vacuum along with pliers to retrieve 15 used syringes from the drain.

While trying to obtain a field test from the syringes Maj. Duckett found two of the syringes were still wet inside.

Major Duckett noted in his report that on Nov. 2 emergency crews responded to Henderson’s home after a report of an overdose. When officers and emergency crews arrived they found Henderson in the bathtub unresponsive. First responders removed him from the tube an administered Narcan and he became alert a short time later. Police searched Henderson’s apartment at that time and did not find any illegal substances or syringes.

During that time Robert spoke with his Parole officer regarding the overdose incident. The Parole officer advised Henderson would have to seek treatment for his addiction and at no time told the parole officer about the syringes

While Henderson was being transported to the Lawrence County Jail he did tell Major Duckett hat he had been to Transitions that day and obtained a prescription of Suboxone that he had yet filled.

The 16 syringes were taken to the Mitchell Police Department where they were photographed and properly disposed of.

Skyler Shoemaker

Lawrence County Police officers and parole agents went to the home of 25-year-old Skyler Shoemaker at 209 Hoosier Avenue in Oolitic to do a parole search.

Officers arrested Shoemaker on charges of possession of cocaine or a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police entered Shoemaker’s apartment and inside a Carhart tin found under a the mattress in the bedroom officer found a black AWS scale, three small baggies labeled with a black cross containing a white powder residue, and 49 empty small baggies labeled with the black cross.

Police asked Shoemaker what substance was in the baggies and he replied it was heroin. He was asked if he was dealing heroin because of the number of empty baggies found.

Shoemaker told police that he was not a dealer, that he had purchased a tenth of a gram of heroin that came packaged in paper. Shoemaker bought the baggies to place the heroin in, that the other baggies were left over. He told police he snorted the heroin.

The three baggies did field test positive for heroin.

Police noted that Shoemaker was cooperative during questioning and the search.

Parole agents transported Shoemaker to the Lawrence County Jail.