Police say couple had fentanyl within reach of children

Maria Flora, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·2 min read
1

Nov. 3—A Lebanon couple were jailed after police found methamphetamine within easy reach of their children, according to court records.

Julio C. Sarmiento, 33, and Vanessa Barba-Lopez, 31, lived in Kise Estates with three children, according a probable cause affidavit. The Indiana Department of Child Services placed the children with a relative, and a court granted Kise Estates permission to evict the couple, according to court records.

Sarmiento was on probation in two previous drug-related cases when Boone County Probation representatives and the Boone County Drug Task Force visited their apartment in late September.

Police observed a child drinking pink lemonade with a straw in the living room and then found a clear glass meth bong with pink lemonade in it in the bathroom, according to the affidavit. "To a child, the bong containing pink lemonade would look like a glass of pink lemonade with a straw," Zionsville Police Detective Peyton Stevenson wrote in his report.

Sarmiento told police he ingests meth through the lemonade to enhance the taste, according to the affidavit.

Police also found prescription narcotics for which neither adult had a prescription and a pill containing fentanyl on the floor of the bedroom the couple shared with a preschooler, according to the affidavit.

Five grams of meth were found in a shelf on Sarmiento's side of the closet, according to the affidavit. That amount of meth represents roughly 50 uses and is an amount larger than what typical users have on hand, Stevenson reported. Police also reported finding small plastic bags and $600 in cash in the closet.

Sarmiento and Barba-Lopez were both previously Door Dash delivery drivers, but he was working at the time of his arrest for a pizza delivery restaurant, according to the affidavit.

Sarmiento was sentenced in May to 730 days in the Boone County Jail after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine and meth, but nearly all of the sentence was suspended in favor of probation.

Boone Circuit Court Judge Lori Schein denied Sarmiento's request for a bond reduction and he remains jailed in lieu of a $1,000 cash bond. Barba-Lopez bonded out of jail shortly after her arrest.

He is charged with dealing in meth, a level 2 felony; possession of meth, a level 4 felony; possession of a narcotic, a level 3 felony; three counts of neglect of a dependent, a level 5 felony; four counts of possession of a controlled substance, legend drug deception, and possession of paraphernalia, all level 6 felonies.

Barba-Lopez admitted to being a meth user but was not credited with possession of the meth in their apartment, according to the affidavit. She is charged with three counts of neglect of a dependent and one of possession of paraphernalia.

Both are due in court for preliminary hearings later this month.