Two More Defendants Indicted in Terre Haute Methamphetamine Trafficking Case

Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced the indictment of two additional defendants in an ongoing probe into methamphetamine trafficking in the Terre Haute area. A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today in the matter of United States v. Vicki Shaw, et al . The current indictment increases the number of defendants indicted in the Shaw prosecution to 13 and the number of defendants indicted in the overall investigation to 22.

The superseding indictment alleges that GARY L. HERMAN, JR., 38, and MELISSA D. SWAYZE, 31, both residents of Terre Haute, served as methamphetamine distributors. Both HERMAN and SWAYZE were arrested following the execution of a federal search warrant on their residence on December 11, 2008. HERMAN and SWAYZE purportedly lived together at a residence on the 3100 block of North 26 Street in Terre th Haute. State charges were filed against HERMAN and SWAYZE on the morning of their arrest and they both remain in custody on the state charges.

The indictment was the result of an investigation directed by the Evansville office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Vigo County Drug Task Force, and the Indiana State Police. Other law enforcement agencies that participated in the investigation included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, the United States Marshal Service, the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

According to Assistant U. S. Attorney Bradley A. Blackington, who is prosecuting the case for the government, the defendants, if convicted, each face a maximum possible prison sentence of life imprisonment.

Initial hearings will be held shortly before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Terre Haute.

The indictment is an allegation only, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial or by guilty plea.