Pierceton Man Faces Arson Charge After April 7 Car Fire
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Blake D. Dull, 24, of 407 W. Elm St., Pierceton, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 3:21 a.m. Wednesday for arson, a level 4 felony. His bond was set at $30,000 surety and $250 cash.
On April 7, Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy Kyle Denton responded to a call in regard to a vehicle on fire near CRs 600W and 1050N in Milford. When he arrived, the vehicle was engulfed in flames and was only identifiable as a Chevy by the hubcaps on the wheels.
Found near the burning vehicle was a service contract bearing the name of Dull and Regina C. Fry. The burning vehicle was identified as a 2012 Chevy Malibu 2LT.
Denton talked with Fry, who said she was the owner of the Chevy but it belonged to her son, Dull.
KCSO Sgt. Don McCune spoke with Dull, who admitted setting the vehicle on fire. He said he did it because he owes money on it and his mother couldn’t afford the payments because he was going to jail for a long time, according to court documents.
KCSO deputy Travis Marsh spoke with the office manager at Community Wide Federal Credit Union. She said Fry took out a loan on Aug. 7, 2017, for $15,879 for the Chevy Malibu. The current balance was $8,549.23.
Dull previously was arrested and booked into the jail on March 19 for dealing in methamphetamine, a level 2 felony; possession of methamphetamine, a level 3 felony; dealing in marijuana in an amount in excess of 30 grams, a level 6 felony; carrying a handgun without a license, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
He was released on his own recognizance, with an initial hearing set for April 4.
On March 19, Warsaw Police Department officer Ross Minear conducted a traffic stop on a 2012 Chevy Malibu for driving 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. As he approached the vehicle, he detected an overwhelming odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to court documents. He asked Dull about the odor and Dull produced a multi-colored glass smoking device. Minear also saw two bags in Dull’s jacket pocket which Dull said had marijuana in them.
While taking Dull into custody, Minear searched him and found three bags of marijuana, containers of THC oil, a small bag of meth, a pill bottle containing marijuana, a glass methamphetamine smoking device, a large bag of methamphetamine, one small-scale weight, numerous unused small plastic bags, one black digital scale and one metal marijuana smoking device.
Dull also had a .22 caliber Rohm six-shot revolver, which he didn’t have a permit to carry.
Court documents state Dull agreed to talk to officers and told them the drugs and handgun were his. He also told Minear he sells methamphetamine to pay for his marijuana habit, food, car payment, car insurance and to help support his grandmother.
Officers searched his vehicle and found a black metal container, one silver cellphone, a black digital camera with a memory card, one metal marijuana grinder, one 1.1-gram THC oil container, a multicolored glass marijuana smoking device, one wooden marijuana smoking device, a second black digital camera with a memory card and a cellphone case.
The large bag of methamphetamine weighed 29.3 grams and the small bag weighed 0.7 grams.
Dull had 71.1 total grams of marijuana, court documents state.
