Jury trial in methamphetamine case begins

Jury selection began Tuesday in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 in the trial of an accused drug trafficker with an extensive criminal past.

Keith Cherry, 36, of Columbus, is charged with methamphetamine trafficking (a Level 2 felony), public nuisance (a Level 6 felony), and habitual criminal mischief.

While investigators say a large amount of illegal narcotics and paraphernalia was found in Cherry's apartment last spring, the defendant was not present when the drugs were found, according to a probable cause affidavit. Four other people were arrested.

On May 16, officers in Columbus were dispatched to 311 Cleveland Street after receiving a 911 call about a drug overdose.

When police arrived at the house two blocks southwest of Garland Brook Cemetery, a deputy sheriff saw a woman running out the back door, the affidavit states. The officer later identified the fleeing woman as 34-year-old Jessica Comstock, who shared a bedroom with Cherry in the house.

The person who overdosed, 20-year-old Chase Barnhart, was already awake and conscious when emergency responders arrived, investigators wrote. Barnhart had received several doses of naloxone from a 19-year-old woman who had come to care for Comstock's young daughter. While she initially denied it, Comstock later admitted that the child was in the house during the overdose, court documents say.

The 19-year-old woman, who has not yet been charged, went outside to call 911 after seeing Barnhart had lost consciousness, according to police. After ending the call, the woman realized she was locked out of the apartment, the affidavit states.

Another resident of the house, Dustin Harden, was arrested for disturbing the peace and possession of drugs.

Harden, 19, had fentanyl on him at the time of his arrest, investigators said in court documents. Barnhart told police Harden supplied him with the drug and claimed it was cocaine, the affidavit states.

Barnhart's overdose gave police probable cause to obtain a search warrant. Police said nearly 58 grams of methamphetamine, with a street value of about $1,600, were discovered in the bedroom shared by Cherry and Comstock. Investigators also said they found digital scales with residue that tested positive for methamphetamine, as well as plastic bags commonly used by drug dealers. Other paraphernalia found at the property included packaging materials and syringes, according to police reports.

Despite Cherry's absence, the investigation resulted in a warrant being issued for his arrest. Two weeks later, on May 30, police found Cherry in a home off South Pine Street, near the Woodside/Walesboro industrial area.

Comstock, 37, was eventually taken into custody for violating the terms of her probation agreement, investigators said. On Dec. 5, 2019, Comstock was sentenced by Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton to nine years in prison for trafficking methamphetamine as a Level 3 felony. However, after a sentence reduction in September 2021, she was released from prison and placed on a work release program that was still in effect when she was last arrested.

During a second interview on May 20, Comstock said that all of the illegal drugs and paraphernalia in the bedroom belonged to Cherry. She also claims that the cell phone she tried to delete all messages from before her arrest also belonged to Cherry.

However, police say Comstock also lied to them, claiming she was incarcerated in jail and was not home when her apartment was searched.

Cherry's criminal record includes a 10-year prison sentence for burglary and resisting law enforcement in 2017, three separate charges of theft, possession of methamphetamine in 2014, possession of a controlled substance in Jackson County in 2014 and several probation violations.