***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May, 19, 2016

ELKHART CIRCUIT COURT JURY FINDS REPEAT FELON GUILTY OF LEVEL 2 DEALING IN COCAINE

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, an Elkhart Circuit Court jury deliberated just over an hour and a half before finding Cedric Ware guilty of Dealing in Cocaine Over 10 Grams, a Level 2 felony; Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class A misdemeanor; and Possession of Marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.

On April 15, 2015, Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department deputies received an anonymous tip that Cedric Ware was cooking “crack cocaine” at his residence in Granger, Elkhart County, Indiana. Deputies also learned that Cedric Ware had two felony warrants for his arrest. When officers went to Cedric Ware’s residence, they found him inside and he was quickly arrested. Deputies immediately smelled the odor of burnt marijuana inside the home. Deputies obtained a search warrant and searched the residence. In Cedric Ware’s bedroom dresser, a deputy found 101 separately wrapped, separately packaged chunks of suspected crack cocaine, weighing approximately 14 grams. All 101 chunks had been separately wrapped in white notebook paper by Cedric Ware after he cooked the crack cocaine in the kitchen, cut up the final product with a knife, and weighed each piece on a digital drug scale. A deputy also found 17 suspected Alprazolam (Xanax) pills and a partially smoked marijuana cigarette. The 14 grams of suspected crack cocaine were sent to the Indiana State Police laboratory and there, a forensic chemist confirmed that the substance was, in fact, cocaine. The pills also tested positive for Alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance. The substance in the marijuana cigarette tested positive for marijuana using a “field test” by one of the Sheriff’s deputies.

The State of Indiana charged Cedric Ware with Dealing in Cocaine Over 10 Grams (Possession With Intent to Deliver), a Level 2 felony; Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class A misdemeanor; and Possession of Marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor. At trial, Cedric Ware was represented by a public defender whose primary argument was that the State did not prove that the crack cocaine, as a whole, weighed at least 10 grams. The State, represented by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eric Ditton, called various witnesses, including the Sergeant who first weighed the drugs, and the forensic chemist who scientifically weighed and tested the drugs, to prove that the amount was at least 10 grams. The jury rejected the defense’s claim that the drug weighed under 10 grams and found Cedric Ware guilty as charged.

Cedric Ware had also been charged with a Habitual Criminal Offender sentencing enhancement, due to at least two (2) prior felony convictions. Cedric Ware chose to admit to that charge instead of having the jury deliberate on it. Sentencing is scheduled for June 9, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. in the Elkhart Circuit Court before Judge Terry Shewmaker. In total, Cedric Ware is facing a maximum of fifty (50) years in the Indiana Department of Correction and up to a $10,000 fine.

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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”