Jasonville man nabbed for allegedly dealing marijuana

A 20-year-old Jasonville man is in jail following his arrest on four drug-related charges that were the result of an undercover operation using confidential informants coordinated by the Greene County Drug Task Force.

Joseph P. Geatches made his initial appearance Thursday morning by video conference link between the Greene County Jail and Greene Superior Court.

Geatches is charged with dealing marijuana over 30 grams, a class D felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class D felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a class D felony; and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor.

He entered a plea of not guilty and Greene County Public Defender Alan Baughman was appointed to the case by the court.

A 2:30 p.m., Nov. 21 pre-trial hearing was set by Superior Court Judge Dena Martin.

Last Friday, the officers were investigating Geatches as an alleged dealer for marijuana in the area.

A confidential informant (CI) arranged a controlled two-ounce buy from an individual believed to be a distributor for Geatches last month.

The CI was wired with a digital recording device and made the purchase -- paying the $265 in pre-recorded U.S. currency, according to a probable cause filed by LPD officer Brock Garrison.

As the individual, who was not identified in court recorded, was leaving the scene, other officers stopped the vehicle of the "go-between" and found marijuana and $20 of the pre-recorded currency used by the CI to make the first drug buy.

The individual who made the deal with the CI agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and told police he got the marijuana from Geatches at his residence on South Meridian Street in Jasonville.

He also told police that Geatches has additional marijuana available for sale and agreed to set up a controlled buy.

Police provided CI2 with a digital recorder and $240 to make the purchase, which was transacted inside Geatches' residence.

He exited the house with two plastic bags -- each containing one-ounce of marijuana.

The next day, officers obtained a search warrant for Geatches' residence. However, while officers were on their way to Jasonville, they noticed a vehicle pass them in which Geatches was a passenger.

The vehicle was stopped and Geatches was taken into custody and transported back to his residence for the search.

The house was searched and officers located a small "zip-lock bag" that contained a pill that was later identified as hydrocodone, a wallet that had a large amount of money in it, and a cell phone.

Among the cash confiscated from a wallet was the pre-recorded currency that was earlier provided to both confidential informants.

In an upstairs room, police also found a large sum of money stored in a small black safe, a bag containing a "green plant" later identified as marijuana; two digital scales; a cell phone bag that contained four bags containing marijuana and some loose change.

In the downstairs dining room/kitchen area, police seized several bank documents.

"According to CI2, Geatches used these bank accounts to store proceeds from marijuana sales," LPD officer Garrison wrote in his probable cause affidavit.