MUNCIE, Ind. – Prosecutors and the Muncie Police Department have filed a lawsuit in a bid to claim nearly $33,000 found in the possession of a local businessman facing drug-related charges.
Calvin “Buddy” Carroll, 77, was arrested last June, when city police raided his southside tavern, car lot and home.
Authorities said Carroll had twice sold suboxone, a controlled substance prescribed to opioid addicts, to informants for the MPD’s narcotics unit.
According to a civil forfeiture action filed recently by attorney Daniel Gibson, investigators seized $32,967.35 during the June 28 raids.
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A total of $21,582.35 was found in Carroll’s properties – Carroll’s Auto Sales and Services, 800 W. Fuson Road; Buddy’s Place, 3101 S. Madison St., and his home along South Delaware County Road 300-W– the suit alleges.
Another $10,720 was found “in the trunk of Carroll’s vehicle” the document said, and he was found to be carrying $665.
In seeking ownership of the cash as “reimbursement of law enforcement costs,” Gibson alleges the money was “furnished or intended to be furnished in exchange for an act that is in violation of a criminal statute.”
Carroll was formally charged in mid-December with two counts of dealing in a controlled substance, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of a controlled substance. The most serious of the dealing charges is a Level 2 felony carrying up to 30 years in prison.
An initial hearing in the criminal case is set for Jan. 22 in Delaware Circuit Court 4, the same court where the forfeiture suit is pending.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.