A Switz City man, accused of trespassing near Worthington a few weeks ago, was arrested over the weekend as a result of a Greene County Drug Task Force investigation.

Zachary Eldon Brown, 43, Switz City, was arrested by Indiana State Police Trooper Richard Klun early Sunday, May 9, as a result of an investigation by the Greene County Drug Task Force.

Brown now has two criminal cases pending against him. Before the arrest, charges were filed against Brown in a case of trespassing in the Worthington area.

Back on March 26, Worthington Town Marshal James O’Malley took a complaint from a rural Worthington resident who said a man had trespassed on property he owns outside Worthington. The resident said he confronted the man who was sitting in a red Toyota Rav4 in front of the property who told him he hadn’t been on the property but had been run off the road by another driver. The resident took a picture of the man and the vehicle and reported the incident.

When O’Malley saw the photo, he recognized the man as Zachary Brown.

There was a surveillance camera on the property and when O’Malley viewed the surveillance photos, he said they showed Brown walking between an abandoned house and a barn. O’Malley also said there was a box of glassware and other items neatly stacked and arranged sitting outside the rear of the house.

The vehicle was registered to a resident of Switz City and when O’Malley went there and talked with Brown, he denied being on the property. But when informed about the photographs from surveillance camera, he allegedly confirmed he did trespass on the property. He denied placing the glassware and other items outside the house and said he was there mushroom hunting.

In the trespassing case, a summons was issued ordering Brown to appear for an initial hearing in Greene Superior Court on Monday, May 24. Criminal trespassing is a Class A misdemeanor.

At some point after the trespassing incident, officers from the Greene County Drug Task Force had information that Brown was selling controlled substances out of his residence in Switz City. During an investigation in May, they developed evidence that Brown had sold methamphetamine to another individual in a transaction sometime in May. Officers reported having witness and video evidence as well as the methamphetamine sold – believed to weigh over a gram.

An investigator from the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office reported a search warrant was issued for the Switz City residence and when executed early last Sunday, May 9, officers found multiple sets of digital scales, numerous plastic bags and containers with white residue and additional packing material. A white crystal substance on one of the scales field-tested positive as methamphetamine. They also found a loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun as well as an amount of cash believed to have come from a drug transaction.

Brown was taken into custody and booked into the Greene County Jail at 3:56 a.m. on Sunday, May 9. He was first held without bond pending court appearance.

When Brown appeared for his initial hearing in Greene Circuit Court on Monday, a public defender was appointed to represent him and his bond was set at $25,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.

In this case, Brown has been charged with: