Man pleads guilty to dealing methamphetamine laced with insecticide

Last Updated on July 23, 2024 by Cass County Communication Network

SOURCE: News release from Cass County Prosecutor’s Office

LOGANSPORT – Prosecutor Noah Schafer announced that Lonnie Pope Jr, 56, of Logansport, pled guilty in Cass Circuit Court on Monday to Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Level 2 Felony and to being a Habitual Offender. Pope had been scheduled to begin a jury trial that morning but opted to admit to all charges in lieu of a trial.

Pope’s charges arise from an incident in March 2023 in which officers of the Logansport Police Department initiated a traffic stop on Pope for illegal lane movement. During the traffic investigation, a police K9 was deployed and alerted for the presence of drugs in the front driver side fender and the front hood area of the vehicle. K9 Krypto assisted officers in locating 222.09 grams of Methamphetamine concealed inside the vehicle’s air filter. Officers also located other drug paraphernalia including a smoking device, several small baggies, and digital scales. Over 100 grams were located in a soda can with a false top, and another large bag with over 80 grams was located near the can. Sgt. Detective John Rogers of the Cass County Drug Task Force estimated the street value of Pope’s meth to be approximately $16,650 to $22,200.

In an interview of Pope following the traffic stop, Pope confessed to dealing large quantities of methamphetamine in Logansport. Pope informed officers that the unusually colored methamphetamine was “raid meth,” explaining that darker color came from spraying the crystalline drugs with the pest spray of the same name. An emerging drug practice involves misusing the active ingredients in insect killers, especially wasp spray, to get high. Often combined with methamphetamines or used as a substitute for meth, users report that it produces a “rush,” feelings of déjà vu, and hallucinatory smells. To consume it, users either spray the liquid onto methamphetamine or crystallize it on hot metal sheets, then inhale or inject the resulting product.

Prosecutor Noah Schafer said of the case: “One of the hidden dangers of illegal drugs is that dealers add other substances to an already dangerous product, creating even more lethal cocktails. Street drugs can have baking soda, insecticide, borax, rat poison, animal supplements and all manner of other thing added to them. And more and more drugs are laced with fentanyl, which is particularly deadly. Thanks to the Drug Task Force and the Logansport Police Department, Mr. Pope won’t be selling “raid meth” or any other kind of illegal drug in Cass County for some time.”

In addition to admitting dealing methamphetamine, Pope also plead guilty to multiple prior felony convictions for forgery. Pope is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Stephen Kitts II in Cass Circuit Court on August 22, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. Pope faces 10-30 years in the Indiana Department of Correction for the Dealing in Methamphetamine, as a Level 2 Felony, and faces an additional 6-20 years as a Habitual Offender Enhancement.