There’s been a warrant out for a Springville man, accused of dealing meth, since April when he was a no-show in court. When deputies were called to an incident last Friday, they took him into custody and reported he had meth pipes in his pocket.  

James Timothy Merriman, 48, Springville, was taken into custody by Deputy Michael Coy of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department last Friday, August 6, when deputies were dispatched to a complaint of trespassing at a residence in the Springville area.

Deputy Coy was dispatched around 5:42 p.m. last Friday after a woman called 911 to report Merriman was at her residence on East Burnett Lane, Springville, but he wasn’t supposed to be there. She said Merriman was taking things out by the garage. She also said Merriman had a warrant.

Merriman was arrested back in June of 2020 by Indiana State Police following their investigation into suspected methamphetamine dealing in the Springville area. Merriman was charged with felony meth charges, maintaining a common nuisance and possession of marijuana. He bonded out of jail and in early April, was supposed to appear in court for a pre-trial conference. He was a no-show and a warrant was issued for his arrest. It has been outstanding since issued in April.

On Friday, the caller said Merriman arrived in a white Chevrolet 1500 single cab truck. Around four to six other men were with him and she didn’t know who they were or if they had weapons but they were loading things from the garage area into two white vans and a truck.

By 6 p.m., a number of GCSD deputies were staged in the area including Sgt. Jordan Allor and Deputy William C. Walker among others. They “staged” or waited for all to arrive in order to proceed to the scene together for officer safety.

Arriving on the scene, Deputy Coy approached on foot and talked to one of the men who said to an unknown person that the sheriff was there. Deputy Coy asked him who he was talking to and the man said he was talking to another man near the road. But Deputy Coy saw a man’s leg in front of a camper that was closer by – the man was mostly out of view.

Deputy Coy told all of the men who were visible to stay where they were near the road and he moved around the camper. He then located Merriman near the top of a hill behind a trailer. When he said something to Merriman, the suspect allegedly turned and ran down the hill and proceeded to jog away from the deputy. Deputy Coy caught up to Merriman who was told to get against a back wall of the residence until other deputies arrived.

During a search prior to transport, Merriman said he didn’t have anything on him except money, but deputies reported he had two glass smoking pipes in a pocket, one with residue – it later field-tested positive as methamphetamine. On the ground near Merriman’s feet, they reported finding a bag containing a green leafy plant material.

During the ride to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, Merriman denied the items belonged to him, saying he’d just found them in the camper. He allegedly said he was going to run, then decided not to, and couldn’t make up his mind.

Merriman was booked into jail by 6:55 p.m.

Merriman’s bond in the pending case with the warrant was set at $10,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. He has not posted that bond.

Earlier today, a new criminal case was filed against Merriman stemming from the items found during his arrest.

He’s facing charges of:

• Possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony,

• Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and

• Possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

In the new case, he’s being held without bond pending his appearance at an initial hearing in Greene Superior Court.

Merriman’s earlier arrest was covered on GreeneStreets. Find the story by clicking the Tag “James Timothy Merriman” below this story.